Let the Right One In (SeaLiech Addition)
by SeaLiech-Central
Summary: A retelling of the amazing story,"Let the Right One In" replacing the characters with characters from Hetalia. Peter is a small, quiet boy who lives in the suburbs on the outskirts of Zurich. After a string of murders occurs in his little neighborhood, Peter meets Lili, a mysterious girl who will change his life forever, though he doesn't know it.(Rated T for violence and language)
1. Prologue

I own neither Hetalia nor Let the Right One In/Låt den Rätte Komma In/Let Me In

About a month ago, I decided to start a side project to go along with my main story, Seashells and Lilies. But, I couldn't decide what to do for my side project. Finally, I chose to rewrite/parody/crossover Let the Right One In, my favorite movie of all time! It took me a little while to get everything figured out and to start writing, but finally I was able to get the first few chapters finished just in time for New Years! So, to start I must first explain a few things. First, this story is based off the Swedish movie,"_Let the Right One In"_, not the book nor the American remake, though aspects of both may appear in the story. Secondly, I have replaced the characters in the story with the countries from Hetalia. But, they are only that country by name and appearance. For example, Sealand is still Peter Kirkland and still looks like Peter Kirkland, but he acts like Oskar. Liechtenstein is still Lili Zwingli and still looks like Lili Zwingli, but she acts like Eli. **DO NOT GO INTO THE STORY EXPECTING CUTE INNOCENT LITTLE PETER AND LILI!** They are not the same characters as in hetalia. Also, a small change has been made to the story. The Location of the story has been changed from Blackeberg, Stockholm, Sweden, to Friesenberg, Zurich, Switzerland,, There isn't really a point behind this, I just felt like changing the location a little bit. Friesenberg is very similar to Blackeberg and is in fact a real place. Finally, I've included a list of which hetalia character will be representing which LTROI characters for reference:

Sealand (Peter Kirkland) – Oskar

Liechtenstein (Lili Zwingli) – Eli

Switzerland (Basche Zwingli) – Håkan

Prussia (Gilbert Beilshmidt) – Lacke

Hungary (Elizabeth Hedervary) – Virginia

Spain (Antonio Fernandez) – Jocke

Greece (Herarles Karpusi) – Gösta

France (Francis Bonnefoy) – Morgan

Ladonia (Erland Oxenstierna) – Conny

Molossia (Kevin Jameson) – Jimmy

Latvia (Ravis Galante) – Johan

Nikoniko (Cosmo Kiku) – Prebbe

TRNC (Berkant Kassadnan) – Roger

Kuglemugle (Hubert Edelstein)– Micke

England – (Aurthur Kirkland) Oskars mother

Ireland (Patrick Kirkland)– Oskars father

Turkey (Sadik Adnan) – Mr. Ávila

HRE (Leon Beilsgmidt) – Elias

Austria (Roderick Edlestein) – The man in the wig

Germany (Lugwig Beilsgmidt) – Steffan

Throughout the story they will be referred to by their human names (fannon names were given to the characters without human names).

I recommend that everyone watch either the original Swedish movie or the American adaptation before reading this fanfiction, as both are amazing stories that I cannot nealry give justice to. Oh, and almost every location I mention in this fanfiction is a real place in Zurich/Friesenberg that can be found on google maps. See if you can figure out which is which!

Enjoy~

* * *

_**Prologue**_

Snowflakes drifted lightly from the cold February night, onto the frozen and snow covered streets of Friesenberg, a small quarter of Zurich. For months the streets had been covered in ice and snow, this light flurry had done little to add to it. A bitter wind blew through the rows of identical apartment buildings that lined the streets, dimly lit by lamp light. The suburbs were desolate and lifeless for the most part.

Though cold and barren, the dark night did not keep all residents of Friesenberg secluded in their houses. A small pub was filled lively with a group of friends, drinking and toasting merrily to their good lives and company, unfazed by the dreariness of their surroundings.

Adjacent to the pub was a small square, a crossroads between the rows of buildings. In the middle of the square resided a tiny park with a single, frost covered jungle gym. Two small children were running around this small square, playing and laughing without a care in the world.

Three stories above the park, a balcony held a lone recluse sat with a cat on his lap, stroking it as he watched the children play and the friends sing. These were the residents of Friesenberg, and to them, life was good, though their environment was frigid. But, this wasn't so for every occupant of the quarter.

A floor below the recluse's perch, a young boy paced back and forth, clad only in his underwear. Brandished in his hand, a large hunting knife that gleamed in the soft light of his room. After a moment, his pacing came to a halt, and he faced an invisible adversary."Squeal" he demanded,"Squeal like a pig". Then his arm jabbed forward as if to stab his imaginary enemy. Seconds later, he returned to his pacing. After several seconds of pacing, he stopped again, demanding and stabbing.

This was a nightly tradition for Peter Kirkland, who by all outward appearances is a normal boy, though a fairly quiet one. No one knows of his nightly rituals, of his hidden thoughts, of his secret wishes that his invisible victims to one day be real. To everyone, Peter was an average 12 year old boy. But Peter was far from average, very far.

After several more rounds of pacing and stabbing, Peter noticed something odd. The sound of the children's laughter from below had been replaced with the quiet purring of an engine. He looked out the window, his forehead and nose stung slightly by the chill of the glass pane as they touched it, and watched as the two children ran off into the distance, leaving dual trails of tiny footprints. He turned his head to the left, and saw two head lights slowly approaching through the dark. A minute later, a small, black taxi cab pulled up in front of his apartment complex. How strange, cars usually never drove this late at night, he thought.

Peter watched as a rather short man, with shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes stepped out of the car. He had a rather agitated look on his face as he looked around, as if checking to see if he were being followed. After his short surveillance, he turned back to the car and pulled out two large trunks. He placed them on the ground, then walked around to the other side of the cab, opening the door and allowing a small girl to step out. She had the same shoulder length blonde hair as the man and the same green eyes, but her hair seemed messier than his, neglected almost, and her eyes seemed tired and sad. The man closed the door behind her, and escorted her to the other side of the car to pick up the two suit cases. Then, the pair entered the building, obscuring them from Peter's sight.

As soon as they left, Peter felt a surge of drowsiness wash over him, being let out in a yawn. He walked over to his bed, sat down, and observed his knife. After a moment of watching its glimmer in the dull light, he slid it under his mattress, and laid down, staring up at the ceiling. He rested his head against the cool wall his bed paralleled, letting it chill his warm cheek and ear. As he did so, he heard the door of the vacant apartment next door to his open, along with the thudding footsteps of two feet. He could hear two voices muffled through the wall. Concluding the strangers that had arrived so late that night were now his new neighbors, Peter drifted into slumber. The night was good, happy, and safe, filled with joyous laughter and carelessness without worry. It would be the last night of the kind Friesenberg would experience for a long, long time.

* * *

Remember to leave a review! Next chapter should come out next friday, thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 1

I own neither Hetalia nor Let the Right One In/Let Me In/Låt Den Rätte Komma In

**Before we start, a few last minute changes and additions that I forgot to include in the introduction:**

**Nyotalia England (Alice Kirkland) – Oskar's Mother**

**America (Alfred Jones) – Police officer**

**Iceland (Emil Steilsson) – First Victim**

**Finland (Tino ****Väinämöinen) – Hana's Owner**

**A fair warning before reading this chaprer, this chapter depicts, in my opinion, the darkest scene in the movie and is not suited for everyone. Though it has been toned down substantially it still may be offencive to some. Reader discretion is advised.**

* * *

Peter's boots landed on the snow covered pavement with a crisp, clean crunch. The sun had not yet fully risen, leaving the streets of Friesenberg dark and desolate, as should be expected so early on a cold winter's morning. The chilling early morning wind stung against Peter's exposed face as he stepped out from the warmth of his apartment building. The snow flurry from the night prior had ceased sometime during the night, leaving a fresh layer of snow above the piles that had already blanketed the neighborhood.

One would wonder why such a small boy would be venturing out into this frigid setting so early in the morning. The answer was simple: Peter liked being the first person to school. Well, not exactly that, he liked going unnoticed by his fellow students. It was in his best interests that he remain out of their attention, and the only way to do so would be to arrive at school long before anyone else. This, however, required him to leave home very early, before most were even awake. He actually quite enjoyed this, the quiet peacefulness of Zurich early in the morning, the hour or two of reading he gained by arriving to school so early, and the ability to remain invisible to his classmates.

And so, at 5:30 every morning, Peter left the warmth of his home and dared the elements on his long walk to his school on the other side of town.

Peter huffed, looking around. A single set of tire tracks dented the otherwise pristine snow. He followed the tracks with his eyes, from their start far in the distance all the way to where he was now standing. It was then, while looking at the tracks that lay before him, that Peter observed something strange. Two trails of footprints, beginning at the tire tracks and leading straight into his apartment complex. While one bore the distinctive imprint of snow boots, the other resembled that of two, tiny, bare feet. Why would anyone walk around barefoot in this type of weather, he wondered.

Realizing that if he did not start on his way to school he would be late, Peter shook off the oddity in front of him and started forward, crushing the footprints underneath his feet. As he crossed the street, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

He looked back at the building. Everything was the same as usual, except for the apartment next to his. Its windows were completely boarder up with cardboard and newspaper. His eyes jumped from window to window, assuring that all the blocked out windows belong to the recently unabandoned apartment. Why had his new neighbors covered up their windows?

But he once again brushed off these questions and hurried on his way. Today his class was having a presentation from a police officer, one of the students fathers, and he wanted to be there earlier than usual in case he got to meet him.

* * *

"Can anyone tell me what this is?" the officer asked, holding up a small bag of a white, powdery substance. The class remained completely silent.

"Anyone?" the man asked, beginning to pace around the rows of desks,"You may guess".

Again the class remained silent.

"Flour?" the policeman suggested,"Sugar, maybe?".

No, it was neither, the class knew. Unfortunately, the children of Frisenberg were far too accustomed with the substance in the police officers bag to not know what it was. While everyone knew, no one answered, out of fear of suspicion. They did not want the man to think the children of Frisenberg had any knowledge of what lie in the bag.

A lone hand slowly raised into the air.

"Yes? Can you take a guess at what this is?" the office smiled at the boy, raising his hand.

"Heroine, sir?"

Peter was the one to break the vow of silence.

The officers eyes widened in surprise, and the heads turned towards the small blond boy in the back of the classroom."Y-Yes, correct! How did you know that?" the policeman asked, rather delighted.

"Books" Peter replied.

"Books? What kind of books are you reading son, certainly none found in your school library" the man laughed.

Peter flustered and muttered,"Just... books. I like to read".

"Wonderful! Continue reading son, if you find yourself around this stuff you wont have any time to read" the policeman smiled, giving the bag a shake and turning to face the front of the classroom.

As soon as his gaze left Peter, the boy felt a sharp pain in his left side. He turned, facing an angry Erland Oxenstierna.

Erland was the younger brother of the schools drug dealer, and leader of the group of bullies in Peter's class. Over the years, Erland became accustomed to words like heroine and other drug related terms from his older brother, which he taught to his classmates. Of course, if anyone were to find out that Erland was the source of drug related knowledge for the 12 year olds of Frisenberg Elementary, he and his brother would be in unimaginable trouble.

His hand was still clenched in the fist he punched Peter with, as he whispered,"You better not snitch".

Peter quickly nodded his head in assurance, and tried to pretend that he wasn't in pain from a surprise hit to the side.

For the rest of the class, the officer lectured on drug dangers and the duty of the police to protect citizens from them. Peter had not answered another question for the rest of class, afraid of drawing attention to himself. Then, the bell rang and his classmates flooded out of the room to recess. Peter was the last one to leave.

Figuring his safest option was to avoid recess all together, he headed to the boys bathrooms, locking himself in a stall.

After a few peaceful moments of safety, the sound of the bathroom door slamming open signaled to Peter that his peace had ended.

"Here piggy piggy piggy!" two voices echoed,"we know you're in here".

Peter immediately recognized the voice; Erland and one of his accomplices in bullying, Cosmo. Peter curled up into a ball to hide his feet, but in vane; Erland had saw them before he curled up and sung,"We see you piggy piggy, open up or we'll have to blow your house down!".

Peter looked at the lock, considering to unlatch it and let them in, but ultimately not moving.

"Fine, were coming in anyways" Erland replied to the absence of sound. Suddenly, the entire bathroom began to shake as Erland and Cosmo slammed into the locked door. Over and over they charged it, each time coming closer to collapsing the ceiling than budging the door. Finally, the lock began to bend, and Peter once again considered letting them in.

"If you don't let us in now, we'll just wait till after school and beat you even worse" Cosmo threatened.

Peter sighed at the inevitability of pain and finally unlocked the door, letting it swing open and revealing the two grinning boys.

Erland grabbed Peter by the collar, pulling him out of the stall and throwing him on the ground. What were you doing in there pig, reading?" Erland snickered.

Peter shook his head in reply, and Erland said,"Of course not, pigs are too stupid too read. Squeal for us, piggy".

And Peter squealed. He wrinkled up his nose and started squealing, oinking, and snorting like a pig. Meanwhile Cosmo and Erland laughing at him, and chanting,"Keep squealing stupid pig, squeal!". And Peter continued. He balled up his fists, closed his eyes, and wrinkled up his nose even more, squealing like a pig. This of course was humiliating to him, but it was better than the alternative. If he resisted, they would've shoved his head in the toilet and beat him until he started squealing. He knew the routine and if he squealed early they would usually leave him alone.

After a minute or so of squealing, he heard Cosmo say,"Ew! Gross! Fucking disgusting pig", then he kicked Peter in the side.

The bullies ran out of the bathroom, chanting,"Piggy! Piggy! Piggy!" as Peter opened his eyes and got up. A small puddle of blood pooled on the floor, coming from his bleeding nose. Peters nose often would start bleeding if he was scared, which was very useful when it came to Erland and the others, as the blood scared them off and shortened their torture. He shoved a paper towel into his nostril and exited the bathroom, not touching his blood.

He hoped someone would find it, wonder where it came from, worry about who bled it. But he knew no one would, no one ever worried about Peter Kirkland, that would require them to care about him.

* * *

Basch Zwingli stood at the subway doors, his destination would soon be coming up and he wanted to leave the crowded train as soon as possibly.

He was a short man, rather skinny, with shoulder length blond hair and a constant expression of seriousness on his face. His emerald green eyes glared out the door windows, as his new home passed by in front of him.

In his opinion, Zurich was an ugly city. Too cramped, too crowded, too big, all came to mind when thinking of Switzerland's capital city. It was especially ugly compared to some of his previous homes in the countryside. It wasn't really the city itself that he despised, he didn't like big cities in general, preferring the rural hills and mountains of the Swiss nation to cities.

But, its was his new home and he had to make the best of it. It definitely wasn't as ugly as most other large cities he had seen on T.V., and wasn't really that large compared to most. And he did find it more and more visually appealing as the subway left the central city and headed into the villages and suburbs. The buildings shrunk and became less bland as the train drove past them.

His stop was approaching, a small village outside Zurich, Uitikon.

The subway came to a halt in the small station in the village. Basch was the only person to get out as this station, which was occupied only by a couple of people. He couldn't help but feel like they were watching him, so he quickly scanned them with his emerald green eyes, checking to see if his suspicions were true. Of course, they weren't, his line of work had made him always feel watched and suspicious, even if he wasn't working.

He sat down on a nearby bench, trying to relieve his nerves.

"_Is there really no other way?"_

"_If there was, do you think I would make you go out and do this?"_

"_I guess not, but.."_

"_There is no other way"._

There is no other way, he told himself, there is no other way. He had to do this, for her, for love. And he couldn't make any mistakes like the many times before.

Basch stretched his back and stood up, grabbing his suit case which seemed much heavier, though the only things inside of it were a light gas canister and the little equipment he needed for his job.

He wandered the streets of Uitikon, trying to find the forest he saw on a map of Zurich. It was deep, dense, and dark, a perfect place for him to work.

He walked as straight and focused as he possibly could trying to avoid looking unusual. The streets were pretty empty, since it was getting dark and cold out, so he did not have to worry about too many people watching him, but still he tensed up when a lone stranger walked past.

Finally, after little less than half an hour of wandering, he found the forests entrance, a secluded winding path. He entered it, and began walking.

* * *

Peter let out a sigh of relief as he made it to the square his home was situated in. He had stayed behind at school for an extra hour, fearful of running into Erland or the others. He was worried the whole way home that they would pop out from behind a corner and give him the beating they missed out on in the bathroom. Luckily, this was not the case, and he had made it home.

The square was his safe haven, the only place he knew his bullies wouldn't venture for various reasons.

Still, he felt ashamed for what he did today. Playing the pig was always demeaning, but it spared the beating he would have gotten if he resisted. He just wished he could stand up for himself once, not worry about the pain, like in his fantasies.

But, he knew he never would. He knew if he ever did, they would beat him worse than ever, and he feared pain.

He would always cower to the pain, act like the pig.

Solemnly, he walked up the stairs of his apartment complex and entered his apartment.

His mom had already started making dinner when he walked in. She asked him how his day was as he passed her. He made up a good day in his head and told her all about it; he didn't want to worry her.

* * *

Basch hid behind a bush, surveilling the path in front of him. It had gotten dark in the forest much earlier than the rest of the world, obscuring his already poor vision even more. The wind had picked up as well, its chill beginning to get to him.

Not many people had come down the path; the few who did didn't meet his requirements. An old man and his dog; old didn't taste good and the dog would've put up too much of a fight. Two young women; too many, he couldn't deal with both of them. A father and young son; he couldn't do it, not to a someone so young. That was his limit, children.

He hadn't seen anyone since the boy and his father, and he was close to the end of his self set time limit. If he was out for much longer, he'd have to return empty handed.

"Idiot!" he said to himself quietly, punching himself in the head,"You should've picked somewhere closer to the city where more people would be. What will she say?"

He sighed in shame, and was about to give up and go home, when he saw movement on the path. A young man, 16 or 17 years old, was walking down the path alone.

Basch couldn't believe his luck. Quickly, he stumbled out of the bush and approached the boy. Only after doing so did he realize how stupid of a mistake this was.

Idiot, now hes on his guard, suspicious, he thought to himself, its mistakes like this that keep forcing us to move.

"Hello! Yes, you young man! Do you have the time!?" Basch called, trying to pull his leg out of the bush as casually as possible.

The boy stopped and looked at Basch, then down at the watch on his wrist.

"I-Its broken!" he said, walking up to him,"Can you tell me what time it is?"

As the boy looked down at his own watch, Basch reached inside his coat, grabbing the gas canister.

"Half past five" he responded.

"Ah, thank you" Basch said, stepping a little closer, looking like Napoleon with his hand in his jacket. It wasn't going well at all, the boy could obviously tell something was wrong.

"What do you have there" asked the boy, pointing to his hand.

"Oh, ugh this?" he stuttered, pulling out the canister and trying to think of an explanation,"its called halothane, I for my job. I work out here".

The boy seemed to ease up, asking,"Oh really? What do you do?".

Basch smiled."I'll show you", he said,"Now, if you'd look at this canister".

He held up the canister and the boys eyes followed it. Perfect, he thought, hes distracted. Time to strike.

He pounced on the boy, shoving the plastic mouth piece over the boys mouth and pulled the trigger, releasing the gas.

The boy struggled, elbowing, kicking, and cursing, muffled by the mask over his mouth. After a few minutes over struggling, he slowed, and fell to the ground, unconscious. Basch huffed and wiped his brow as he got off the young man. His job had just begun.

* * *

It was dark by the time Peter finished dinner. It was a quiet meal; though his mom tried and tried again to start up a conversation Peter had always found a way to end it quickly. He didn't want to talk, or eat, or do much of anything really. All he could think about was Erland, laughing at him, calling him piggy, telling him to squeal. And squealing.

He was ashamed of himself, that he squealed again, just like so many times before. But this would be the last time, he told himself, next time it would be Erland squealing. He wanted revenge, and he knew just exactly how he would get it.

As soon as he finished dinner, Peter got up and walked to his bedroom. Going to his bed, he reached under the mattress and pulled out his sheathed hunting knife. Concealing it under his jacket, he walked out to his living room and opened the door to leave.

"Peter, would you like to watch some television with me?" his mother asked as she heard him walk past.

"No mom, I'm going out" he said.

"Out? Isn't it a little late to be going out?" she asked, turning to him.

"I'll be back soon" he said, walking out into the hallway and closing his apartment door.

As soon as he stepped out into the hall, he was no longer Peter Kirkland. No, he was _The Murderer _now. A crazed killer with a kill count of fourteen, soon to be fifteen. The police were baffled, they had no trace of him, it was like he disappeared into thin air as soon as his grisly act was over.

As he walked into the brisk, cold night, he saw his latest victim.

Erland Oxenstierna stood in the middle of the square's park, a smug smirk on his face.

Peter walked up to him, standing face to face with his victim.

"What are you staring at?" he asked,"Well?"

No response, just the same condescending sneer.

Peter pulled out his knife and asked,"Are you looking at me?"

Erland's eyes widened as he saw the knife.

"Well fuck off" Peter spat,"Whats your problem? Scared?".

Before he could run, Peter plunged the knife into him, growling,"So scream!"

He stabbed him again,"Squeal!"

And again,"Squeal!"

Of course, he was not really stabbing Erland.

Where Erland stood was only an oak tree, covered in stab marks from games of _Murderer _past. But it didn't matter, to Peter even the thought of the tree being his tormenter was enough.

He continued stabbing, hacking, and slashing at the tree bark, imagining Erland's squeals as he did so.

"What are you doing?"

Peter nearly threw his knife in surprise when he heard the small voice come from behind him. He spun on his heels and looked up.

Atop the jungle gym in the middle of the park stood a small girl, wearing an old looking green sweater and pink pants. _Barefoot._ Peter recognized her as the girl he had seen the night before.

"Nothing" Peter exclaimed fearfully. He took a step towards the jungle gym, still brandishing the knife. Her face was... emotionless. That's the best way he could describe it. Maybe a little sad, but not much else. Shouldn't she be scared, he wondered, seeing a kid attacking at a tree with a knife? He knew he would've been scared, thought the kid was psycho, would've run away. But she just stood there, staring at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

The girl shrugged,"Nothing". Her voice sounded funny, at least to Peter. It sounded... different. Older, almost. How old was she anyways, he wondered. She looked like a 12 or 13 year old, but her face was sunken and dark, like an old person's.

He tried to think of something to say, to keep from scaring her off.

"Do you live here?" he asked. He knew the answer before he asked of course, he had seen her move in next to him last night.

"Yes" she replied,"I live right here, on top of this jungle gym"

What a silly response, he thought, she must be scared of me, she doesn't want me knowing she lives here.

"Seriously, where do you live" he asked.

The girl turned around and pointed to his apartment complex.

"Next door to you" she said.

Peter was a little surprised to hear this. She hadn't seen him watching her the night before, she couldn't have, she didn't even look up. And he left very early in the morning, she wouldn't have seen him leaving.

"H-How do you know where I live" he stuttered.

She didn't answer. Instead, she jumped off the jungle gym, landing straight on her feet at the base of it. How did she do that, he wondered, that has to be 6 or 7 feet, she should've at least stumbled a little. She walked a few steps towards him, her large emerald eyes more visible than ever before.

"Just so you know", she said,"We can't be friends".

"Why?" Peter asked, shocked at how bluntly she said that. She had only just met him, why would she say they couldn't be friends if she didn't even know him? She must be scared of me, Peter thought again.

"We just can't, does there have to be a reason?' she asked.

Before he could answer, she turned around and ran into the apartment building.

Peter waited till she was out of sight to shout,"Oh yeah!? Well who said I wanted to be your friend anyways!?". He kicked some snow and shoved his knife back in its sheath. Stupid girl, he thought, just like the rest of them.

* * *

Basch's work was nearly done. He stood in the middle of a clearing, far from the path he had watched so diligently earlier.

The young man was hanging upside down from a low hanging branch. _Dead_. A deep cut across his throat promised that. Slowly his vital fluid poured out from the wound, into a jug below his head.

Basch had his back turned to the boy, he couldn't look at what he had done.

I'm sorry, he thought to himself, it was either you or me.

It would only be a few more minutes, then his job would be done and he could go home. Home to his beloved, home to her. She would praise him for his good work, tell him how grateful she was. Maybe even hug him or...

A shrill bark came from behind him.

Basch spun around and saw a small white dog, standing between him and the body, barking madly.

"Shew!" he whispered, swatting at the dog,"Go away!".

To make matters worse, he heard some trampling coming from the woods to his left.

"Hana!" a voice yelled,"Come back here!".

He didn't have time, he had to go or he'd be caught. He ran over to his suitcase, shoving the knife and the gas tank inside of it.

"Hana?" the voice was getting closer.

When he was sure he had everything he ran off in the opposite direction of the voice.

After about 100 feet of running, he heard a high pitched scream. They found the body.

Basch stopped, and hid behind a bush to avoid detection. Quickly, he pulled out his suitcase to check to see if he had everything.

The gas, check, the knife, check, the rope, check, the jug... No.

"No no no no no!" he said to himself, punching himself in the head over and over,"Idiot, you'll never get that blood now".

It was too late, he'd being going home empty handed. What will she say, he wondered, what will she do?

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Make sure you leave a review to tell me what you think of the story so far! Next Chapter should come out next Friday!**


	3. Chapter 2

Basch sat on his mattress, head bowed in shame. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the face.

"You're supposed to help me!" his beloved growled.

_I know_, he thought, _I've failed you_.

He could hear her pacing.

"Do I really have to take care of myself!?" she yelled.

_Does she?_ he wondered, _she certainly could_. He lifted his head. She was standing in front of him, holding the empty suitcase. Her eyes meeting his.

"Say something!" she yelled, throwing the suitcase at him. It hit the wall right above his head, falling down to his side.

"I-I'm sorry" Basch said,"Please forgive me"

* * *

It was all over the news

_Murder in Uitikon_

_Sacrificial killing in Uitikon_

_Local boy found dead in Uitikon_

Everyone in Zurich was talking about it, mere hours after the body was found. Widespread fear swept across the city. Parents were keeping their children home. People were missing work. Everyone was terrified that they'd be the next victim.

Peter hadn't hear the news until he arrived at school. He found it strange that half his class was empty. Unfortunately Erland wasn't among the absent.

When class began, Peter's teacher stood at the front of the room, a newspaper in hand and a worried expression on her face.

"I don't mean to alarm anyone with this" she said,"I'm sure this will be news to many of you, though some of you may already know. Last night, somewhere in the forests around Uitikon, a boy not much older then you children was found murdered".

A collective gasp came from the uninformed students, though Peter was not among them. Murders didn't scare him, they excited him. Another clipping to add to the scrapbook, he thought as his teacher raised the news paper, showing a picture of the boy from when he was alive.

"Not much information was given" the teacher said,"They don't know why the boy was killed, they suspect it was some sort of ritual or something, but can't be sure".

While most the class sat wide eyed taking in every word the teacher said, Peter sat boredly scribbling in his notebook. He didn't want the normal spiel about what he should do to stay safe or what the police were guessing at, he wanted the gory details. How was the boy killed? What was used to kill him? Is this the first victim? Will there be more? He knew he wouldn't get these answers in school, that's why he couldn't wait to get home, to read the news paper for himself, get the answers he craved.

"I know many of you may be worried..." the teacher started.

Worried? Why would anyone be worried, Peter wondered. Something exciting was finally happening, something to follow in the news with interest, something to think about when walking the streets. People should be eager to be living in the same town as the killer, walking the sames streets as him, chancing the possibility of running into him! Not worried, Peter thought, enthralled!

"...the counselor will be here all day, so go talk to her if you feel the need. Any questions?" The teacher finished, folding up the paper and putting it back on her desk.

Cheeky as ever, Erland raised his hand, smirk across his face, and asked,"If we meet the killer can we kill him?"

The class laughed nervously along with him, even Peter gave a little smile.

"That isn't funny, Erland" the teacher said strictly.

The bell rang, and Peter practically flew out of the class room, wanting to get home as soon as possible as well as avoid being held up by Erland and his gang.

* * *

Peter couldn't believe it when he walked into the square. Somehow he managed to avoid Erland all the way home, and survived another walk home without a beating. Usually he always ambushed Peter before he could even make it out of the school, but for some reason Peter couldn't figure out, he hadn't for the past two days.

Before he made it home, Peter swiped a newspaper from the local cornerstone. His was pretty good at stealing, usually he just stole candy but sometimes he'd go for bigger things like his hunting knife and a few toys. Proud of avoiding Erland and successfully stealing himself a newspaper, Erland marched up the staircase of his apartment building and walked into his home. As soon as he stepped through the entrance, his mother charged at him, hugging him and kissing him, and say,"Oh Peter! Thank god you made it home alright, I was so worried!"

Peter, trying to push her off of him, asked,"Worried about what?".

"Didn't they tell you? A murderer is on the loose!" she said, finally letting go.

"They told us, but that was all the way over in Uitikon, not Friesenberg" Peter explained.

"That's less than an hours walk away! For all we know, he could be outside our doorway right now!" his mom shouted.

Peter looked out his open door to see if a murderer was standing right behind him. He didn't see the murderer, only the blond man, who was with the strange girl when she moved in, as he walked past quickly, his cheeks streaked with tears.

_He looks sad_, Peter thought,_I wonder if he knew the boy that was killed. If he does, I might be able to get him to tell me more about the murder!_

He turned back to his mother, and said,"No murderer out there"

"Oh stop being smart, I'm serious" she grunted,"I want you coming straight home after school, no staying behind, not stopping at the store, nothing. And don't leave the square unless I'm home. Understand?"

Peter groaned in acceptance, and pushed past his mother, heading for his room.

"And don't talk to strangers!" she called lastly as his door closed.

He ran over to his sock drawer, pulling out the scrapbook that was hidden under a layer of footwear. He began flipping through its messy pages. It wasn't really a scrapbook, simply a sketchpad he filled with news paper clippings that involved infamous murders across the world. From America to Japan, the 1950's to present day 1983, clips filled the book. Peter smiled as he went from page to page, looking for a clean one to post his newest clipping. He had been keeping the scrapbook for nearly two years now, and had accumulated quite a collection. This newest one would be his favorite, because unlike the others, it happened in HIS city, not a far away one that he could only imagine. He could go to the sight of the killing if he wanted to, could keep track of the progress of finding the killer, and add more clippings into his book if the killers actions continued. It was all very exciting for him

Finally, he found a fresh page and pulled out the News Paper. The front cover had a picture of a submarine on a rocky beach somewhere in Sweden. Apparently the Russians were invading or something, but he didn't have time to care. He found the page and immediately but out the article, gluing it onto the page. His teacher was right, they didn't offer much information. The only really important detail in the clipping that she didn't mention was that the boy was,"Tapped for blood". Other than that, it was all police ramble. Disappointed in this lack of important knowledge, Peter shoved the book back in its drawer .

* * *

"This world is going mad I tell you!" Gilbert growled, slamming his fist down on the bar table and setting his newspaper down,"First this nonsense in Northern Ireland, and now the Russians are invading Sweden! Before you know it, we'll be in world war 3!"

Francis laughed,"So what, we'll just be neutral again"

"Oh yes, the Russian's will completely respect our neutrality like the Germans did! Well in case your forgetting, Sweden is neutral!" Gilbert yelled.

"Yeah Francis, don't you see whats going on? They're going for all the neutral countries first! First Sweden, then Ireland, and then Switzerland! Its all laid out right in front of us!" Antonio said sarcastically.

Francis and Elizabeth laughed, and Gilbert got red in the face from a mix of anger and embarrassment."Oh yeah, laugh it up! But when were buried under six feet of nuclear fallout, don't come crying to me!".

"Oh lighten up, Gil! We'll be fine" Elizabeth laughed.

These were the regulars at Yao Wang's Chinese restaurant and pub. They had gone there every night for years, drinking, singing, gossiping, and enjoying each others company. The group had grown and shrunk over the years, some members moving, some members dying, some members trying to find a better life than the ones the rest of the group accepted. But these four were always there, for nearly ten years. They had been customers for so long that their faces were painted on the wall above their table; Francis's golden locks and seductive look, Antonio's messy brown mop and cheery expression, and gloomy, angry Gilbert, with storm clouds drawn over his head. The only one with their full body painted was Elizabeth, her beautiful features captured perfectly on the wall. Some other heads accompanied theirs, those of members long gone. But theirs were in the center, always together.

As they laughed at Gilbert, a stranger with shoulder length blond hair walked in and sat down at a table at the empty side of the bar.

"Who's the new guy?" Gilbert asked, trying to change the subject away from him.

"Him? I think he's the guy who moved into Mattie's old apartment" Francis explained,"I've seen him walking around, looks kinda shifty to me"

"Wait, Mattie moved? Since when? I didn't even get to say goodby to him" Antonio screeched.

"Toni, Mattie's been dead for five years now" Gil deadpanned.

"What!? Why didn't anyone tell me!? I thought he was just being a recluse in his apartment like Heracles up there" Antonio exclaimed.

"We all went to his funeral together, don't you remember?" Elizabeth laughed.

Antonio thought for a moment, then said,"Oh yeah, that time we all wore black!"

The laughter shifted to him, but Gilbert stopped and said,"Ah cut him a break guys, its not his fault that he has the memory of a demented goldfish".

And the laughter continued.

Antonio blushed and looked over at the new guy, noticing that he was crying."Hey, maybe we should invite him over with us, introduce him to the neighborhood. He looks kinda sad" he suggested.

Francis looked over and said,"Ah, I've seen that look before. Wife left him, boss fired him, dog died, something along those lines. Its best if we let him settle it out himself over a glass of whiskey"

Elizabeth and Gil nodded in agreement, and Antonio frowned.

"Well unlike you assholes, I'm going to be the nice guy and go comfort our new friend. Who knows, maybe if I'm nice enough he'll buy us a round" Antonio said, getting up.

"Well that's a different story! If offers to buy us drinks then tell him hes welcome to come sit with us" Gilbert laughed.

Antonio walked over, greeting with a simple,"Hello"

The teary eyed man looked up from his half empty drink.

Antonio leaned on a chair next to the man, pointing over to the gangs table and saying,"We were wondering if you'd like to join us?"

Shaking his head, the man mumbled,"No thanks. You could sit down if you'd like"

Toni sat down, and the man finished his glass."Would you like something? I'm buying"

Toni laughed, and said,"Well in that case, I'll have whatever you're having"

The blonde ordered two more whiskeys, and drearily looked down at the table.

"Some crazy weather were having, eh" Toni laughed,"soon the snow will be so high we wont be able to cross the street. Not that I mind, being trapped in a bar during a blizzard doesn't sound like too bad a fate".

The man nodded, mumbling something under his breath.

The drinks arrived, and Toni held up his cup, announcing,"Cheers!", then downing his drink. The other merrily sipped from it.

"So, you live around here? Never seen you in this bar before"

The man looked up, a confused expression on his face as if he wasn't sure the answer. He shook his head, which Toni couldn't tell whether it was a nod or a no.

Finishing his drink, he decided to ask the man one more question, before he would leave him alone. If a conversation started, he'd stay.

"So, what do you do to pass the time?"

"I..." the man said, but stopped. A grin spread across his face and he nodded, saying,"I help out"

"Ah, with, like, old people? That's great, all I do is sit around and drink all day" Toni laughed.

The mans face turned pale white, and his eyes widened."I-I have to..."

"Say no more, its ok! Thanks for the drink, feel free to drink with us any time" Toni smiled warmly.

The man nodded and quickly retreated out of the bar.

Toni got up and grabbed the mans drink, chugging it as he left. He sighed after finishing it, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and murmuring,"Poor bastard", before going back to sit with his friends.

A successful evening all around. The last the group would spend together.

* * *

"I'm going out mom" called Peter as he tied a scarf around his neck and placed a warm cap upon his head.

"But our show is about to start, and its getting dark!" his mother replied from another room.

"Its ok, I don't like that show anyways"he said, opening the door.

"Okay, just stay in the square, no wandering" she sighed in return,"I guess I'll be watching this on my own then".

She said the last bit just loud enough for Peter to hear. For a second, he considered staying, not wanting to disappoint his mother. But, he had stood at his bedroom window ever since he had returned from school waiting to see if the girl would come out again tonight. After about three hours of waiting, he thought he saw someone in the playground and decided to see if it was her. He didn't want all that waiting to go to waste, so he left without another word.

The snow was coming down fairly hard when he had left school, but subsided soon after he returned home. The soft virgin snow lay pristine on the ground in front of him, no footprints in sight.

Strange. He could've sworn he had seen her run into the small park. But it appeared as if no one had touched the ground since the snow fell.

Sighing, Peter trudged through the snow over to the jungle gym, sitting down on it and pulling out a small rubics cube. He brought it in case he missed her, so he wouldn't return immediately to his home and make his mother wonder why he left in the first place. He had stolen the cube from a toy store a week or so prior, and had yet to solve the puzzle. He managed to clear to side and partly finish a third, but in order to complete it he would have to ruin the other two sides, which would only push him further from completion. As he turned the sides, he heard the crunching of snow behind him and the creak of the jungle gyms metal frame, but did not turn. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, and could feel her eyes watching him. They sat in silence for a moment or to, before she murmured,"So... you're back"

He acted surprised, raising his head slightly and stiffening when he heard her voice, but he already knew she'd be there."So you're back" he replied wisely, smirking slightly.

"Why are you sitting here?"

"Why are you sitting here?" he asked in returned, rotating his cube some more with his chilled hands.

"I want to be alone"

"I do too"

"Then go home"

Peter grunted in annoyment."You go home", he said, not looking at her,"I've lived here much longer than you have anyways"

_Take that_, he thought, I'm_ not going to let some weird new girl tell me what to do, not like the rest of them do._

She sighted, in what Peter took as defeat, and they returned to the silence of the night. After a few minutes of not talking, Peter was actually concerned that he may have hurt her feelings with his little outburst, and considered turning around and apologizing.

Instead, the girl leaned over his shoulder, and looked at the toy in his hand.

"Whats that?" she asked.

"This? Its a rubics cube" Peter said, turning around and holding up the cube for her to see,"Don't you know what a rubics cube is?"

She she shook her head slightly to say know, then studied it curiously, then asked,"What is it? A puzzle?"

"Yeah" Peter said, surprised that she didn't know what a rubics cube was. Almost everyone had one, and if they didn't have one they at least knew what they were."Want to try it?"

She moved back a little when he tried to hand it to her, as if she was scared by it.

"You can give it back tomorrow" Peter offered.

"I might not be hear tomorrow" she whispered.

"Then the day after. But no longer than that"

She smiled, and moved forward slightly, taking the rubics cube from Peter. She began rolling the toy in her hands, examining each side and corner of it. Peter laughed, as she looked like a monkey he had once seen in a zoo examining a piece of fruit.

"How do you do it?". She handed the cube back to Peter, who began turning the tiles in his hand.

"You want to turn them like this, until all the sides are one color" he explained, spinning the sides randomly."Its really hard, I've never beaten it" he said, giving it back to the girl. As he came closer to her, he sniffed the air and smelt a rancid odor It reminded him of his father's old dog. He adopted it when he left Peter and his mother, and moved to the countryside. It was a frail, old dog, mangy and sick. But the scent he was smelling wasn't the one of the dog, but the one he smelt when the dog died. A putrid stench, the worst he had ever smelt, and once again it came to him.

"You smell kinda funny" Peter said.

She didn't seem to notice his comment. She was too engrossed by the rubics cube, staring at it with her unblinking green eyes. While she was distracted, Peter took the time to look her over. She was wearing the same moldy green sweater and pink pants as the night before, and still no shoes.

_Does she have any other clothes? _Peter wondered,_ And isn't she cold?_. Peter was bundled up in his thick winter clothing and he was starting to feel cold, but she seemed unphased by the cold, not a shiver in sight.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked.

"No" she muttered, not taking her eyes off the spinning cube.

"Oh. Why not?"

"I guess... I've just forgotten how"

_How do you forget to be cold? _Peter pondered.

It was getting late. Peter wasn't sure how long he had been sitting out there, but his fingers were getting numb and his mother was probably getting worried, so he stood up and said,"I have to go"

The girl looked up, holding out the rubics cube for Peter.

"No, you can keep it" Peter said,"See you tomorrow".

She nodded and Peter waded back to his house, generally excited for tomorrow.

* * *

Basch stumbled into his apartment, whiskey on his breath.

"Where have you been?" a soft voice asked.

"Out" he slurred.

"You're drunk"

"You;re beautiful"

"Thank you. We agreed no more drinking"

"You agreed, I didn't agree to anything. Whats that?"

"A puzzle. You know if your drunk we'll have to move again, just like Vald..."

"Where did you get it?"

"I borrowed it. Basch, you can't"

"Who did you borrow it from?"

"Basch don't be like this" the little voice begged.

"I thought you loved me!" Basch cried.

"I do, in a way"

"Only because I get you food"

"Yes. Speaking of that, you need to..."

"I don't need to do anything"

"Basch, I'll die"

"Then take mine! I refuse to do it anymore, I'd rather be dead than do that again"

"Just one more time, tomorrow"

"No! No more times!"

"I love you"

"Liar"

* * *

**I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading! This chapter was a little slow I think, but really it's build up for the next chapter. Next chapter should come out next Friday or Saturday. Remember to leave a review telling me how you think Im doing!**


	4. Chapter 3

_Newspaper Delivery Boy. A fine first job for a fine young man._

Or at least his mother believed so. Truly, Peter did not see how his job made him more,"Responsible", or,"Better with Money", or any character building traits his mother said would come along with the job. All he had to do was roll several hundred newspapers, which is easier than it sounds, and deliver them on Saturday mornings to the residents of Friesenberg. He only received a few francs a week, and spent them before he could even get home to show his mother. But, Peter didn't mind that it didn't teach him important life lessons, it was an easy job that payed for a couple of candy bars.

And so, Peter began his route late in the Saturday morning, a sack of papers on his back and a newsboy cap, which his mother had bought him when he had got the job, on his head. Stepping through his doorway, Peter stopped himself and took off the cap, throwing it back into his apartment. He didn't want the girl seeing him with it on. Her door was adjacent to his, and any moment she could have walked out and seen him in his dorky little hat.

He looked at her door. It was identical to every other door lining the hallway, but somehow, it felt different. Someone was behind that door that he actually knew, not some stranger he called neighbor, but a person he had talked to, interacted with, noticed.

_Whats her name?_ Peter realized he hadn't known. Of course, they've only seen each other twice and weren't on the best of terms for both meetings, but usually someone would tell you there name as soon as you met them. He'd have to ask her tonight. _Or right now_

For a brief moment he considered knocking on her door, asking her if she wanted to come along with him on his paper route. But a twinge of nervousness stung his stomach and he thought of all the possible negative outcomes.

_What if her father answered? _He had heard him yelling often, and last night had even thought he heard the girl crying. Peter was sure he wouldn't be happy to see some strange, hat-less paperboy at his door asking to see his daughter.

_But maybe he wouldn't answer! _Peter thought. _But what if she doesn't want to go? What if she's still scared of you?_ Then they would just stand there, awkwardly, and Peter would go off feeling like a fool.

So, he decided just to go it alone, placing a paper at the step of each door down his hallway.

* * *

It was near noon when Basch had finally sobered up and awoken, a searing headache from his hangover. He was not accustom to drinking, especially not as much as he had the night prior. He rubbed his temples and let his eyes adjust to the darkness of his room. Sitting at the foot of his bed, his beloved, the sight of whom had revealed his headache instantaneously.

"Oh... good morning" he said, slightly surprised by her presence. She would never come into his bedroom, at least not when he was already occupying it.

She looked at him, her wide green eyes piercing his soul, and whispered,"Tonight".

The word flooded back memories from his drunkenness, as well as his migraine.

"No" he said calmly,"I said so last night and I'll say it again now, no. You look different, what have you been doing?"

"I took a shower. Basch, you didn't know what you were saying last night. You were drunk"

"Well I'm sober now and the answers still no! Why did you take a shower? You don't normally"

"Why not?"

Basch sighed, accepting that he wouldn't get his shower question and moving onto another.

"Are you ever going to tell me who lent you that puzzle?"

"That's not an answer to my question"

"And that's not an answer to mine!"

Basch stood up angrily, fighting off the throbbing pain in his head and throwing some clothes on.

"Where are you going?"

"Out"

"Please don't drink again"

Basch didn't reply, simply he marched towards the door, throwing his winter gear on.

"I love you!" his beloved called.

He resisted the urge to turn back, to do her bidding, to say,"I Love You Too!", and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

By the time Peter had finished delivering it was late in the afternoon. As he collected his pay the early winter dusk was starting to set in and soon it would be dark. Unlike usual, Peter didn't stop at the candy store on his way home. Instead, he pocketed his earning, something in his gut told him they would be better saved then spent.

As he walked home, a small figure popped out from behind a corner in front of Peter. At first, he had thought it was Erland coming to make up for the beating he missed yesterday, and covered his head in case of an attack. But he eased up after hearing a familiar laugh and voice saying,"Got you!". It was Ravi Galante, the closest thing to a friend Peter had. He only hung out with Peter when no one else was around, but that was more often than most everyone else. He particularly enjoyed scaring Peter, pretending to be Erland, who he looked quiet similar to.

"Hey Peter" Ravi laughed,"I thought you would've stopped falling for that after the tenth time"

"Heh, I guess I don't learn" Peter laughed nervously,"Hi Ravi".

"So, wanna hang out? I found a frozen frog down by the lake, I thought you'd like to see it since you're into weird stuff like that" Ravi offered.

"I'm afraid I can't" Peter said,"Its getting dark and I'm already late, my mom doesn't want me out anymore because of the murderer"

"Oh yeah, my parents were giving me hell about that too" said Ravi,"Well, I'll see you at school then"

"We can hang out tomorrow if you'd like" Peter suggested.

"No, I've got other things to do. See ya" Ravi dismissed, running off.

Peter didn't mind the rejection all that much, he only offered to hang out to be nice. Instead of wasting the day being led around by Ravi, he planned on spending it with the girl, to get to know her better. He would ask her tonight, after finding out her name of course.

* * *

The lock clicked open and Basch entered his apartment, stone cold sober. As his beloved requested, he had not drank. Instead, he walked around the city until he was cold enough to go home.

She was waiting for him as he walked in. Before she could say something, Basch said,"The answers still no", hanging up his hat and coat.

"I know" she replied

Basch looked puzzled."Then... what are you going to do?"

"I'll do it myself?"

"Yourself? Is that why you showered?"

She didn't reply. They stood, staring at each other for a moment, then she muttered,"Basch..."

"If it was anything else I swear I would do it, but not this! Anything, I swear!"

"Yeah, sure..."

"Please, I'm sorry! Forgive me"

She pushed the taller blonde man to the side, and closed the door behind her.

* * *

After dinner, Peter rushed outside, not even bothering to tell his mother he was going. Dinner ran late, and he didn't want to miss the girl.

Unlike before, she was already waiting on the jungle gym when Peter ran outside, probably wondering where he was.

"Hi" she said as he approached.

"Sup" Peter replied. _Well I'm never saying that again_, Peter thought, his cheeks reddening, _What a stupid thing to say._

She didn't seem to notice Peter's embarrassment."Come up here" she invited.

Peter obeyed, climbing up the bars and sitting next to her. She looked different. Her hair was no longer greasy and matted, but smooth and pristine, like the untrammeled snow that glazed the ground around them. Her complexion had lightened and cleared up as well, no longer smudged with dirt and grime. But with those aspects of her appearance disappeared, Peter noticed the weathering of her face. Her eyes were bagged and tired, her cheeks and forehead wrinkled, and her smooth blonde hair dashed with streaks of white and gray. _How old is she? _Peter wondered.

"Do I smell better?" she asked, her wide eyes anticipating for Peter's response.

He sniffed the air. The old, rotting scent he smelt the night before was replaced with the flowery, artificial smell of cheap soap, which Peter wasn't all that fond of, but it was much better than she smelled earlier.

"Yeah" he replied with a smile.

She smiled back, and scooted closer to him, almost touching him. She pulled a small object from her pocket, and handed it to Peter. It was his rubics cube, _completed_.

Peter stared at it, mouth gaped, and asked,"How did you do it?"

"I turned the sides until they were all one color"the girl laughed, reciting the instructions Peter had given her.

"No, I mean... Did you take it apart?" Peter asked.

"You can do that?"

"How long did it take you?"

"Not very long, only a couple of hours, I could probably do it faster now since I know how it works"

She had to be lying, it took Peter two weeks to get three sides, no one could do it in a few hours. He carefully scanned it, checking for any evidence of cheating.

Nothing.

"It was fun, thank you. I used to have something similar, but it was mush easier" she said, turning to him. Her eyes were large pools of green, hiding most of the white of her eyes. They seemed to glow through the dark, and Peter kept flashing between them and the rubics cube.

"What's your name?" Peter asked, wanting to get his first question out of the way quickly.

The girl took a moment to reply, as if trying to remember her name, then said,"Lili".

_Lili, _Peter thought. He never knew a Lili, it wasn't very common, at least not where he lived. He liked it.

"I'm Peter" he said, rather dully. He couldn't concentrate, his eyes were stuck on hers."How old are you?" he asked, forcing his eyes back to the rubics cube, which he was now randomizing.

"Twelve" Lili said,"More or less". The last bit was a whisper, Peter was just able to hear.

_Twelve? _Peter thought, _But she looks at least fourteen, maybe fifteen. She might be younger than me!_ Peter would be turning thirteen in a few months, so it was very well possible that he could be older then her. _But what did she mean by more or less?_

"How old are you?" she asked, her eyes still fixed unblinking on Peter.

"I'm twelve too" he said,"What do you mean? More or less? When's your birthday"

Lili did not answer. Her gaze left Peter, and moved down to the ground, avoiding eye contact."I don't know" she whispered.

"You don't know your own birthday? When do you celebrate it then?"

"I don't"

"You... don't? But, your parents have to know when your birthday is? Don't they get you gifts?"

Lili shook her head. She looked back up at Peter, her eyes wider than ever. Peter was lost in them, unable to think, unable to leave her stare.

_She looks so sad_, he thought, _so very sad._

"You don't get presents... ever?" he asked, quietly.

She shook her head, moving even closer. Their legs were now touching, and her face was inches from his.

"Would you like to give me a gift?"

Peter nodded, his blue eyes as unblinking as hers.

He was so entranced by her deep, green eyes, that he didn't notice her begin to change. Her lips curled, revealing two sharp fangs. Her fingers morphed into pointy claws. Even her large, green eyes, which his were so fixed on, narrowed, and turned completely black, no sign of the green that previously occupied the two, deep pools. In his eyes, she was still the sad, helpless girl her eyes portrayed, blind to her true appearance. He did not see as she leaned towards him, her mouth nearing his soft, white throat. All he could see were those _sad, green eye._

Her mouth was mere inches from his neck, fangs bared, when he raised his hand and stroked her cheek.

Lili jumped backwards, nearly off the jungle gym, and landed on her back. Her face returned to its human form as soon as she hit the ground, and she placed her hand on her cheek,panting heavily. "W-What did you do!?" she asked, hey eyes wide and scared

"I'm sorry!" Peter said,"Its just, you looked so sad! I-I thought it might make you feel better!"

She stared at him, terrified, then looked down at her hand which had left the cheek he had touched, then back at him.

"I-I can't..." she huffed,"I can't..."

Peter began to move closer to her."I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!"

She looked terrified, staring between him and her hand, then scrambled up and puffed,"...I have to go"

"Please don't" Peter whispered,"I'm sorry"

She leaped off the jungle gym, and dashed out of park, out of the square, out of Peter's vision.

He sat back down, and looked down at the rubics cube, clenched tightly in his hand. He began spinning it, thinking of Lili, thinking about her eyes, her sad, lonely eyes.

* * *

Antonio and Gilbert stumbled out of the bar, drunk and lively, laughing off a joke neither could remember. They, as usual, were the last ones to leave; Francis and Elizabeth were not able to go out that night due to both having to work late. Toni and Gil, both unemployed, needn't worry about such things as working late.

As the cool night air washed over their faces and their feet hit the frozen pavement, Gilbert slipped, and fell flat on his back. Antonio laughed as his friend cursed and tried to get back up, slipping once again. He offered Gil a hand and pulled him up.

"Agh, my damn foot" Gilbert hissed, trying to stand on one leg and not slip again.

"You probably just sprained it" Toni chuckled, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye,"Here, I'll help you walk back to your apartment, you cripple". He put one arm under Gilbert's armpit and started walking him to his apartment.

They crossed the street and walking halfway through the little park in the middle of the square, when Gilbert pushed off Antonio, saying,"Thanks, but I think I can take it from here"

"No problem" Toni huffed.

The two stood their for a minute, the Gilbert said,"Well, thanks for another great night". He hugged Antonio, who laughed, and said,"You too! Good night my friend", patting Gilbert's shoulder.

"See you tomorrow" Gilbert said, shuffling off to his building.

Once he was out of sight, Antonio turned and began walking home. As he passed the jungle gym in the center of the park, a small glint of color caught in his eye from the pearly whiteness of the snow laying atop it. He walked over to the jungle gym, and brushed the snow off the small, colorful square, revealing a rubics cube half buried in snow.

_Some kid must have left it out here_, he thought to himself, picking up the toy,_ I could probably get a couple francs for it down at the toy store. _With a smile, he stuffed it into his pocket, and continued his journey home.

It was quiet nights like tonight that really made Antonio think. It had been nine years since his wife had left him. She took everything, his house, his money, his dog. Since then, his life had been hell, unemployed, poor, at times homeless, and all his time spent drinking. Unlike Gilbert, who completely accepted and enjoyed this lifestyle, on quiet nights like this, Antonio couldn't help but think of how his life could be better, if he would just try to make it better. He never tried to find a job, or a partner to replace Lovina, or anything that could make him happier. Of course, he kept a cheerful facade to keep his friends from worrying, but deep down, he was as miserable as Gilbert.

_I could get a job_, he thought, _and I could buy a house of my own, somewhere warm. And I could let Elizabeth and Gilbert, and Francis live with me, and we could all be happy._

He had thought this many times before, a dream he dreamed of every night, but one he never tried to achieve.

As the snow started to softly land on his head, he decided he had had enough of this miserable life. Tonight would be the life that he would just sit back and accept the way things were. The next day, he would go out, and find a good job. And he'd save up every centime he earned, and would start looking for property somewhere in the Mediterranean, a big house for him and all of his friends.

He smiled as he walked, imagining his dream finally coming true, crossing the snow laden street leaving the square. As he passed a small underpass, his mind filled with images of paradise in his mind, he heard a small voice in the quiet of the night.

"H-help me..."

His hear nearly stopped as he heard the two words muttered. He turned to the underpass, which he thought he heard the voice come from, and squinted into the dark tunnel.

"Hello?" he asked. Maybe he was just hearing voices, he was drunk after all. But it had sounded like a little kid, and he couldn't take any chances if they were hurt.

"P-please... h-h-help me..." the voice begged again.

This time he knew he had heard it. He thought he could see a small lump in the otherwise flat blackness, which must have been the source of the voice. Cautiously, he approached the small figure, and asked,"Is something wrong?".

A car passed overhead as he said so, which he worried may have muffled his voice. The voice didn't reply, so he got closer, and asked,"Are you okay?".

Again, silence. So, he walked until he was standing directly over the figure, which now he could tell was a small child.

"Hey, can you walk?" Antonio asked, crouching down next to the kid.

"No" they said, in a strange voice. He couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, the voice didn't give their gender away and it was too dark to see them.

"OK... I'll carry you, I know a place nearby with a phone so we can call the police" Antonio said. The bar surely would still be open, and he was sure Yao Wang, the owner of the bar, would let him use their phone. He put his arms around the figure and lifted them up, surprisingly effortlessly. It felt like they weighed nothing, like he was picking up a pillow. _This kid must be malnourished... or anorexic... or bulimic... or whatever that medical show said kids have nowadays, _Antonio thought. It was a shame that now even kids worry about what they look like. _If I ever have a kid, I will worship them and tell them they were beautiful everyday so they would never have to worry about body image. Maybe when I buy that house, I'll meet a nice girl and have a kid or two._

The child nuzzled their head between Antonio's shoulder and neck, tickling him. He laughed,"Hey, careful kid, I ticklish and I don't want to drop you".

The ticklish feeling was replaced with a sharp pain, which made Toni grimace and asked,"Hey what are you doing down their kid?". He began to feel a warm, liquidy substance run down his neck and chest, and heard a slurping sound, which made his gasp and shout,"Are you biting me!?".

The child's jaws clamped around his nape and though he tried to drop them, their arms and legs wrapped around his torso like iron chains.

"What the hell!?" Antonio yelled, trying to pry the child off of him.

He stumbled around, trying to keep from falling over, and running into the walls of the underpass in attempt to knock them off of him. Screaming, he ran out of the tunnel, a white hot pain filling his body. He was starting to feel light headed, his gasps were swallowing, and his vision was beginning to blur. He tumbled into a pile of snow, and desperately started clawing at the ground.

The ivory white of the snow is all Antonio saw as his vision slowly faded to black.

* * *

Lili tore into the mans neck like a wolf tearing into the carcass of it's fallen prey, lapping up all the blood she could taste. The warm liquid washed away the feeling of overwhelming hunger that had plagued her for so long. The irony taste tickled her taste buds as she sucked as much vital fluid out of the man as possible.

As her victim ran dry, Lili sat up on the mans chest, wiping her bloodied mouth with her sleeve. Without hesitation, she placed her hands on the mans head and twisted his neck, a horrible but familiar snapping sound accompanying it.

She panted as she looked down at her work. The mans horrified eyes, the last expression he would ever make, met hers, and tears began to flow out of her eyes. It was a curse, either him or her, and selfishly she sacrificed his life to keep herself alive, like so many before him.

Through tear filled eyes, Lili saw a familiar sight as she got off the man. A rubics cube had fell out of his pocket, and sat in the only patch of snow not soaked with blood. She picked it up, and began walking home.

* * *

Peters soft cheek was pressed against the cool wall as he lay in bed. He had been laying there for hours, waiting to hear the girl, Lili as she was now known, to come home. A mix of embarrassment and self-hatred filled his head and kept him awake, wanting to make sure the girl returned safely.

_How could you be so stupid!?_ he thought to himself, smacking himself on the head,_ She probably thinks your some kind of pervert now, caressing her cheek like that! You'll be lucking if she ever talks to you again!_

He buried his head into his pillow, but as he heard a voice coming from the other side of the wall, his ear returned to its original position. Not a voice, two voices, her and her father. He listened intently, trying to make out any words that were muted by the wall. It sounded as if Lili had finally returned home. She and her father were talking, then talking louder, then yelling. Actually, it was her father yelling, she was talking in a quiet voice. He thought he heard,"Unbelievably cruel" and "No respect", but other than that, just muffled voices. He thought he heard some crying as well. After a few minutes of this, there was a loud crashing sound, then silence.

Did he hit her? Maybe he had seen them together when Peter stroked her cheek, and was angry at her. Peter was worried. _Am I the reason he's beating her?._

Lili's voice returned, soft, but not scared or hurt. _She wouldn't be talking like that if he hit her, _Peter told himself, _He couldn't hit her. _Peter would kill him if he hit her.

Peter grabbed his glass of water from his bedside table and quickly emptied it. He put it against the wall and tried to listen in on the conversation. He _had _to know what they were saying, if Lili was hurt.

But,silence. Then, a loud bang. _A gunshot!? _Peter felt his heart sink. He had taken out a gun and... no, it must have been a door being slammed close, gunshots are louder. Still, Peter worried.

He wanted to make sure that it was the door, so he looked out his window waiting for someone to leave the building. After a few minutes, Lili's father walked out of the building, carrying a large sack and looking rather angry.

For a moment, Peter considered sneaking out, and following him, to see what he was up to. But no, he could be caught and get in a lot of trouble. So, he just told himself that he was just imagining the worst possible situation and that Lili was fine, and went back to bed, not hearing anymore voices coming from the wall.

* * *

Basch couldn't look at him. He couldn't imagine his beloved being able to do something so horrible. The mans neck was turned 360 degrees and hung at a sickening angle. It took all of his might to not vomit, he had never seen anything so horrifying in his entire career. She had already explained to him why she had to snap her victims necks, to keep the infection from reaching their brain, but _why _turn it a full circle? Wouldn't it have been easier just to... No, she had to be sure.

Someone her size couldn't do this, wouldn't do this... He didn't want to imagine _her _doing this. She was innocent, sweet, incapable of such atrocities. _He was the savage murderer, not her._

Basch had to act quickly, or someone was sure to come by and catch him. Without looking, he shoved the large bag over the mans twisted head, then pushed the rest of the body in. Once that was out of the way, he started moving the snow around to cover up the blood.

_Now, _he thought as he flipped the snow, _what to do with the body? Burn it? Too noticeable. Mutilate it? Too messy. Bury it? It would take too long. Dump it!_

There was a lake not too far from Frisenberg, two or three kilometers away, an hour's walk at most. It was almost midnight, so not many people would be out, making the job easier. And if someone were to spot him? Nothing to do about that, it would all be over. What a relief that would be.

* * *

The apartment reeked of cat piss. Dozens of cats ran around the small rooms, leaving messes everywhere they went. They were disfigured, frail, and mangy, from years inbreeding and neglect. Most were born dead, the ones that weren't were born terribly deformed. Some without eyes, some missing a paw or two, some deaf.

_He loved them all._

They were his family, the only ones who loved him, the only ones who would talk to him. He didn't care if they didn't look or act right, each held a special place in his heart.

Heracles sat in a moldy, torn armchair, Glissel in his arms. He stroked the cat, who was the least disfigured of them all, though that didn't say much. From what Heracles could tell, she was blind in her left eye, and was missing a couple of teeth.

It had been almost three years since Heracles left his apartment, his nephew brought him food and welfare paid for his house, a complete recluse to the world. He used to let his cats out, but after his neighbors complained of their smell he was forced to leave them in his apartment, to go where they please, which left a terrible odor.

It was paradise for him.

"What are we going to do, Glissel?" Heracles asked, petting the cats shaggy, matted fur.

The cat purred as he stroked it, but Heracles looked at it as if waiting for a response

"Don't know? Me neither. We can't just tell them, the police would come, and ask too many questions, and would annoy me"

Again he looked to Glissel for a response, but just more purring.

"I know, he was our friend. It was Antonio! I knew him! He was always the nicest to me. But now hes dead. And no one knows but me. No one else saw _her. _Did you see?"

The cat looked up at him, one yellow eye and one glassy blue eye, purring.

Heracles spoke in a whisper,"She was only a child! I saw her with that neighbor boy. I saw her run down that road. It waited for Antonio. He went in... and never came out. I just know hes dead!"

Glissel rubbed her hear against Heracles chest.

"I already told you, I can't go to the police. They'll ask me questions, shine bright lights in my face. There'll be a lot of people, asking me questions. I cant..."

He stopped running the cat, who jumped off his lap and ran off.

"I have to... do something"

* * *

**I thought this would be a shorter chapter to write, only two or three page. But nope, eight pages and two days late. It seems like each chapter just gets longer and longer and takes more and more time to write. That said, I apologize for any late chapter than may come in the future. Next chapter should come out some time next weekend! Thanks for reading, and remember to leave a review telling me what you thought of this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4

Sunday was a fairly uneventful day for Peter. He didn't spend the day with the girl... er, Lili, he was having trouble remembering her name, like he had planned, or gone outside at all really. He stayed locked up in his room all day, doing homework and reading, as well as worrying about what he'd do when 6 o' clock rolled around.

When the hour finally came, the time he and Lili had met the past three days, he wasn't sure what to do.

_What if she's not out there? _He wondered, _What if she is? What will I do then?_

After five, ten, fifteen minutes, he began to feel guilty. _Maybe she's out their, waiting for me_, he considered, _it couldn't help just to check._

So, he put on his hat and coat, said goodbye to his mother, and walked out into the cold night. He felt his blood run cold as he saw Lili, sitting on the very top of the jungle gym, staring directly at him. Slowly and gravely, he waddled through the snow and sat down at the bottom of the structure in the middle of the playground. As he did so, Lili dropped down and sat next to him.

"Hi" Peter said.

"Hey" she replied.

"I didn't think you'd be hear tonight"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Didn't I scare you last night?"

"No. Why would you think you scared me?"

"You look scared. And you ran away"

"You didn't scare me. You couldn't scare me. I scared myself"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing" Lili said. She was playing with the snow next to her, flipping it in her finger idly.

Peter looked her over as he had last night, but this time checking for any signs of abuse. Black eyes, bruises, cuts, _bullet wounds_, anything ranging from silly to serious that may show that she was hurt by her father. But nothing. In fact, she looked better than she had the night before. Her skin was no longer dirty and wrinkled, but tight and clean, her eyes wide and youthful, and her hair a golden blonde with no signs of gray. Peter thought she looked rather beautiful...

Lili noticed him staring, and asked with a smile,"What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing! I just... last night I heard you and your father fighting through my wall. I was checking to see... if he hurt you" Peter stuttered.

""He not my father" Lili said, her smile fading and her attention returning to the snow.

"Oh. Is he your uncle or brother or something?" Peter asked.

"No. Hes just... I don't want to talk about it. You can hear me through the wall?" Lili asked.

"Yeah" Peter said.

"How much do you hear?" she asked.

"Not much. I can't understand anything either of you say, but I can hear when you're talking" he replied, his fingers grazing the snow like Lili.

They sat together, playing with the snow, before Lili stood up and said,"I should go".

Peter looked up and said,"Ok, see you tomorrow?"

She hesitated, then, with a small grin, said,"Ok", before walking back to the building.

"Good night!" Peter called cheerfully. He felt much better, knowing she wasn't mad at him, or scared of him. He enjoyed finally having a friend. She was his friend, right? Yes, yes she was. Smiling, he wrote,"Lili" is the snow with his finger, then jumped up and ran back to his home.

* * *

The next three days passed by quickly for Peter. Because Valentine's Day was coming up, his class began reading Romeo and Juliet. He found it rather boring, but enjoyed it all the same. He loved reading, no matter how uninteresting the book may be.

Still, he found it hard to concentrate. All he could think of was Lili. They had met every night for nearly a week now at six sharp. Thanks to the wall, they were able to tell each other when they were leaving. A simple knock and both would leave their apartments, walking together down to the park.

On Wednesday, while his fellow classmates were struggling to keep their eyes open as their teacher read from _Romeo and Juliet_, Peter secretly copied the dots and dashes of Morse Code from a dictionary onto a small piece of paper, hiding in the back of his class. Once he finished the first, he copied a second, it being much neater and well written than the first. It had to be better than the first, it would be given to Lili after all.

While Peter had enjoyed their nightly meetings, they were often brief, and he'd have to wait a whole 24 hours before he'd see Lili again. It seemed like she disappeared from the world after she went back into her apartment. He didn't see her leave for school, return home, or go outside at all besides when she left with him.

Peter longed for a way to talk to Lili after they returned to their homes, a way to communicate without having to sit out in the cold for long. The solution came to him on Wednesday morning, Morse Code. He had read about it in books and magazines before, never understanding the practicality of it until now.

He stayed an extra hour after school, copying and recopying the second piece of paper, making sure that it was perfect. It had to be perfect for Lili.

Once the slip had finally met his standards, he delicately placed it between two pages of his textbooks to prevent it from folding or wrinkling, then left for home.

As he walked out of the school, he had the strange feeling that he was being watched. After he was a block or two away from his school, his suspicion had gotten the best of him, and he turned around to see who was following him..

"Hey Peter!" Ravis said, popping out in front of him.

Peter put his hand over his chest as if he were about to have a heart attack, and gasped,"That's not funny Ravis!"

Ravis laughed and said,"When are you going to stop falling for that?"

"When you stop doing it" Peter grumbled.

"It's all fun and games Pete, don't be so serious" Ravis laughed,"Hey, wanna go see that frog I was telling you about on Saturday? It should still be there"

"No thank you, I was supposed to be home an hour ago, if I'm any later my mom will kill me" Peter lied. Truthfully, he didn't want to risk running late and miss Lili. It was already starting to get dark and she'd be expecting him soon.

"Ah too bad. Mind if I walk with you? I've got nothing better to do" Ravis asked.

"Sure" Peter said. He didn't mind Ravis, though his scare tactics could get annoying at times. He enjoyed his company, when he offered it at least, and didn't want him to think he was trying to ignore him.

"So, books pretty boring, eh?" Ravis asked, trying to make small talk.

"Romeo and Juliet? Yeah, I haven't been paying much attention to it" Peter replied.

"Yeah, I noticed. What were writing in the back of the classroom today? You seemed really focused" Ravis asked.

"Yeah, what were you writing, Piggy?"

The voice was all too familiar. Peter spun on his heals, and found Erland standing in front of him, armed with a whip-like tree branch. Strange, he wasn't usually alone. He always had at least one or two of his cronies by his side, but no. He stood alone, branch in hand and a grin on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Peter murmured. Ravis took a step away from Peter, kneeling down and pretending to tie his shoes.

"What's that Piggy? I couldn't hear you?" Erland hissed.

Before Peter knew it, he had his hands pinned behind him, unable to move. Two more boys appeared in front of, Berkant and Hubert, two of Erland's friends.

Peter and Erland had actual been friends when they were younger, at least as close to friends as he and Ravis currently were. Occasionally they would hang out, play together, and talked in school. But after the summer when both were 10, Hubert seemed to change. He didn't talk to Peter anymore, ignoring him or even picking on him. Eventually he joined the ranks of Peter's bullies, and here they were now.

"I think he said he would gladly hand it over, like a good little piggy", the boy behind him laughed, his identity now reviled. Cosmo, the tallest and strongest of the boys, had Peter in a firm grip.

"Is that so? Well then, hand it over Piggy" Erland demanded.

"No" Peter whispered, trying to wriggle out of Cosmo's grip.

Erland looked shocked."No?" he asked,"What do you mean no? Hand it over"

Peter stared at him, scared but unwavering, he wouldn't play piggy this time. Cosmo sneered,"Looks like Piggy wants a whipping"

"Yeah" Erland smiled. He handed the rod to Hubert, and said,"You take the first whack, Hubert".

Hubert puffed, looking about as scared as Peter. He approached his ex-friend and looked him in the eyes. Then, drew back the stick and smacked Peter across the ankles a few times.

The searing pain hit Peter immediately, and he winced, trying not to make a sound that would show his hurt.

Hubert passed the stick to Berkant, then quickly ran behind Erland. Peter didn't know Berkant well, he was always just one of the kids who followed Erland around and picked on Peter when he got the chance, like Cosmo. Peter wondered if he even had a personality or if he was just an entity brought into this world to follow Erland.

Berkant raised the branch and flogged Peter's legs, harder and less caring than Hubert. Peter felt tears coming to his eyes, the pain was beginning to take him. But he put all his effort into not making a noise, biting his lip to keep from screaming.

Erland pushed Berkant out of the way, taking the stick,"My turn now". Peter closed his eyes, bracing for the hardest strikes of all to come to his ankles. But none came. Instead, the whooshing sound of a whip breaking air passed his ear and a sharp pain covered his right cheek.

Peter gasped in surprise. His eyes widened in shock, and he raised his hand to his cheek, the icy prickly of a new wound meeting his hand. He felt blood starting to seep down his cheek and onto his coat.

"Shit! What'd you do that for!?" Cosmo yelled, letting go of Peter.

"What?" Erland asked, lowering the rod.

"What are you going to tell his mom?" Berkant asked.

"Nothing. Because our clumsy little piggy here slipped on the ice, and his cheek got cut when he hit the ground. Isn't that right, Piggy?" Erland asked, raising the stick again.

Peter glared at him, but nodded in relent.

"Good. lets go guys, Piggy's had enough" Erland said, dropping his branch and running away.

Cosmo and Berkant followed suit, yelling,"Piggy!" as they ran, but Hubert stayed behind, just for a moment. Peter thought he heard him mutter,"Sorry", before following his friends.

Once they were gone, Ravis had finally finished tying his shoe and stood up, asking,"Are you alright Peter?"

"Yeah, just a cut" Peter said, holding his cheek tightly.

"What assholes, why do you let them pick on you like that?" Ravis asked.

"What am I supposed to do?" Peter murmured.

The two began walking towards Peters house, when Ravis asked,"What are you gonna tell your mom?"

"I slipped on the ice, and cut my cheek" Peter said,"That's what happened, isn't it?"

* * *

It had been four days since anyone had seen Antonio, and the three were starting to get worried.

The first day when he didn't show up to drink, they figured he hooked up with some broad and was off parting somewhere. The second day their hope still held, but worry began to set in. Finally on the third day, they decided to contact the police. Unfortunately, there wasn't much they could do, too preoccupied with the Uitikon murder to worry about some poor, unemployed drunk who had only been missing for a few days.

"Damn pigs" Gilbert growled, flamed with several glasses of whiskey. Of the three, he had taken Antonio's disappearance the worst. They had been best friends for nearly ten years, were the founders of the group. They had spent nearly every moment of their day together, drinking, walking, doing things lazy bums like them would do. He was the first to suggest something may have happened to Toni."Its not like him to just disappear without telling us first".

"He probably met some tramp and is somewhere in France with her right now, too drunk to figure out how to get home" Francis laughed, not very confidently.

"He couldn't afford to go to the next town over, let alone France" Gilbert said.

"You're over reacting Gil. I'm positive he is okay. Any day he'll coming stumbling through that door, and tell us of his adventure in Paris with his prostitute sidekick" Elizabeth laughed, hugging Gilbert.

Gil gave a small chuckle, then said,"They're not even concerned with finding him. All they think about, everyone thinks about, is that brat who got murdered. No pity for a worthless drunkard".

As he said this, the bar door opened and a frigid gust of wind swept through the bar. As he felt the drop in temperature, Gilbert turned quickly, asking,"Toni?"

But Antonio was not standing in the doorway. Instead, Heracles Karpouzi stood, shaking and terrified, staring down at the three. His long, messy hair was combed back with hair gel, and he was wearing a suit that he had outgrown many years ago.

"Heracles? Dear god, we haven't seen you in ages! Come, sit down my friend, you look freezing" Francis said, getting up to Usher Heracles to his seat. He wouldn't move.

"Antonio..." he mumbled, trembling.

Gilbert's eyes narrowed as he looked at him, and asked,"What?"

"Antonio!" he shouted, silencing the rest of the bar.

"Heh" Francis chirped nervously,"Why don't we take this outside?".

The now group of four assembled outside the bar, Heracles looking on the verge of tears by now.

"What? What is it about Antonio? Do you know where he is?" Gilbert asked, almost running out of the bar. He almost slipped on the same patch of ice as he had four nights earlier, but Elizabeth caught him, and helped him up."hanks" he muttered, still looking down Heracles.

Heracles, breathing heavily, slightly shook his head, and said,"Follow me".

He led the group across the park, then down a dark road until they reached the underpass of a bridge.

"Here, it was right here. I was on my balcony and I saw..." he said, trying to catch his breath. He looked at his friend's faces, then finished,"...I saw Antonio... and this kid..."

"A kid? How big was he?" Gilbert interrupted, a twinge of anger in his voice.

Heracles looked around at the ground under his feet, eyes wide and scared."Here, it was somewhere around here. It has to be..." he got down on his knees and started sifting through the snow.

"Ah... Heracles, were you drinking tonight..." Francis asked.

Heracles tensed up, his shaking and hyperventilating halting. He was looking down at his hands.

The three friends crowded around him, trying to glimpse of what he was staring at.

He had uncovered a patch of snow, crimson red.

Gilbert got down on his knees next to Heracles, grabbing a handful of the red snow.

"Christ! What the hell is this stuff!?" Gilbert gasped.

"...blood" Heracles whispered.

Gilbert heart stopped. His eyes widened, and his hands clenched into fists, crushing the snow in them."Who the hell did this?" he asked through gritted teeth.

* * *

Peter had done it. He managed to make it all the way through dinner without his mother questioning the legitimacy of his story.

"You have to be more careful" she said,"People have died slipping on ice before. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you. Please watch your step next time, okay?"

"Yes mom" Peter droned, finishing the bowl of soup he had for dinner.

He brought his dishes out to the kitchen and started washing them His mother passed on the way to the living room, ruffling his hair and asking,"Do you want to watch some TV with me?"

Peter patted his hair back into shape, then said,"Sorry, I'm going to hang out with Ravis tonight". After the first couple of nights going to see Lili, his mom had started to get suspicious as to where he was going. Going to see Ravis was the best explanation he could think of, but his mother was too happy that he was finally making friends to question it.

"Again? You two have been together every night this week, could you spend one night with your poor old mother? What do you two do anyways? Your usually back within half an hour of leaving, and his house is quite a ways away if I remember" she said.

"Nothing, just hang out, talk and stuff. Didn't you say you want me to make more friends?" Peter asked.

"Yes, right, sorry. You go off and play with your little friends. He can come over here and play, if you'd like. It would be warmer than staying out in the cold" she offered.

Peter ignored her, putting on his winter clothes and preparing to head out. Before he left, he ran back to his room and grabbed the neatly written piece of paper he had made for Lili earlier that day. Making sure not to fold or crease it, he put it in his pocket and ran outside.

As usual, Lili was sitting at the top of the jungle gym, smiling and waiting for Peter. He ran up to her and sat down, greeting,"Hi Lili!"

"Good evening Peter" she said softly.

"I made you something, today in school" Peter said excitedly, pulling out the piece of paper.

"Really? What?"

"You like puzzles and stuff, right?"

She nodded in reply, and he smiled, saying,"Well this is like a puzzle. It called Morse code". He showed her the paper, and explained,"See, each letter has a little code that goes along with it. A is dot dash". He tapped the code onto the metal body of the jungle gym."B is dash dot dot dot. C is dash dot dash dot".

They went through the entire alphabet, Peter tapping and explaining each letter to her until the reached z.

"I thought... we could use it to talk through the wall... if you'd like" Peter said, handing her the paper.

Lili smiled, but her eyes weren't focused on Peter's. She raised her hand to his face, her finger stroking his cheek, gliding over the band-aid covering his fresh wound.

"What happened to you?" she asked

Peter sighed. Should he lie to her? He lied to his mother, but she wasn't like Lili. If he told his mother, she'd go to the school and make a scene. Lili wouldn't do that, couldn't do that. He could trust her.

"Some kids at my school..." he mumbled,"What school do you go to?"

"Peter", Lili said, surprisingly sternly,"listen to me"

Peter nodded to show he was listening."Hit back"

Peter pursed his lips and turned his head. Did she really expect him to hit back? If he could he would've already. He was too small, too weak. If he hit back, they would kill him.

Lili moved closer to him."You've never fought back before, have you?" she asked.

Peter shook his head, no. His fingers scratched nervously in the snow next to him.

"Then hit back. Hit back hard" she demanded.

"I-I can't. There's four of them" murmured Peter.

"So hit them back even harder" Lili said,"Harder than you'd ever dare, then they'll stop"

"But what if-"

"Then I'll help you"

Peter almost wanted to laugh. She was a girl, smaller and probably younger than he, how could she help. But he couldn't laugh, because right after she said that, Peter felt her hand grab his.

Suddenly, he felt warmer, much warmer. Like he teleported from the cold Swiss winter to some tropical island. He also found it harder to breath, gasping as her fingers wrapped around his and not taking another breath for several seconds. His blush grew redder and his heart felt like it was beating triple pace. He looked at her and smiled.

"I can do that, Peter" she said,"help"

They stared at each other for a short while, then Peter stood up, and slid down off the jungle gym.

"Come on" he said, waving for Lili to follow. She jumped off into the snow, and the two walked back to their apartment building.

* * *

Basch stood at his bedroom window, hand gripping the curtains, shaking with anger. He watched as his beloved waited atop the tiny jungle gym in the middle of the square. He watched a small, blond boy run up to her, and sit down next to her, closer than Basch had ever sat.

_So that's who gave her that toy_, Basch growled to himself. He watched them, they were talking. His beloved was getting closer to him. _Maybe shes going to feed on him_, Basch hoped. No, she held his hand.

Basch's mouth seethed, his nostrils flared, his eyes glared at the boy filled with the strongest hatred he's ever felt for a human being.

Angrily pulling the curtain shut, Basch marched over to his bed, sitting down on it and putting his face into his hands.

What did the boy have that he didn't have? He was younger, yes, much younger, but that didn't matter to his beloved. Everyone was younger to her.

Did the boy get blood for her? No.

Did he sacrifice his entire life just to take care of her? No.

Did he risk his life every day just to keep her well? No.

Then what did she see in this boy?

_Maybe its all a ploy_, Basch thought,_to get me to get blood for her again_.

Well it worked. The next time she asked, he would get some for her, and he knew exactly who his next victim would be.

Moments later, Lili was standing over Basch's mattress, looking down at him.

"Move" she demanded.

"Why?" Basch asked, looking up at her.

"You're in my way, now move"

Resistantly, Basch stood up and Lili jumped onto his bed, looking at the wall. He stood at the door for a moment, watching her pull out a piece of paper and scan it over, before she turned around and said,"Go away".

He closed the door, but didn't move. Instead, Basch put his ear to the door and listened. All he could hear was a strange tapping noise.

_What is she doing? _he wondered.

* * *

Peter and Lili had spent hours tapping to each other, practicing their new found language. They hadn't much to talk about, mostly they asked each other if they read certain books, simple yes or no questions for easy for beginners to the code. From what Peter gathered Lili knew more about the works of classical authors like Shakespeare and Charles Dickens than the exciting action and horror modern novels he read. It was nearly one in the morning when his mother finally came in and told him to go to be.

"You're still awake?" she asked, startling Peter as she broke the silence he had been in for a few hours now.

"Yes... I was reading" he said, hiding the Morse code paper before his mother could see it.

"Well you should get to bed, you have school in the morning" she said.

"Ok", Peter complied. As his mother left the room, he turned to the wall one last time, and tapped a final message,"S-W-E-E-T D-R-E-A-M-S", before slipping under his covers and fading into slumber. He could barely feel the cut on his cheek.

* * *

**Yet another surprisingly long chapter that I procrastinated to finish. I hope you've all enjoyed, remember to leave a review telling me what you think of the story! The next chapter won't be out for another two weeks, Valentine's Day**


	6. Chapter 5

**Before we begin, I have a few additional characters I forgot to mention in the intro**

**Teenage Denmark (Mathias ****Køhler) – Mattias**

**Teenage Norway (Lukas Bondevik) – Mattias' Friend**

**Teenage Sweden (Berwald Oxensteirna) – Mattias' Friend **

* * *

Curiosity was killing Basch. It had been at least an hour since his beloved had come home and asked to use his room, and she hadn't come out since. All the while as Basch tried to figure out what she was up to, a strange ticking noise had driving him nearly insane.

It took him a while, but he finally realized what the tapping sound was. _Morse Code_. He was amazed it took him so long to deduce this, it was quiet obvious really.

He ran over to a suit case resting on the kitchen counter, and pulled out a small oxford dictionary, one of the few possessions he kept with him when he left his old life. Flipping through the pages until he reached 'M', Basch found the Morse Code key with all the dashes and dots that made up the hidden language. Pulling out a crumbled piece of paper from his pocket, he quickly scribbled down the code then ran over to his bedroom door.

Jealousy wriggled in his chest like a large, angry snake as he got on his stomach and put his ear to the door, determined to discover what his beloved and the neighbor boy were discussing. And what did he find? Books. They were listing books and asking each other if they ever read them.

_Is that it? Books? If she wants to talk about books why does she have to with that boy, not me? _Basch considered himself well-versed in classical literature, he was once a literature teacher...

After hours of listening, hours of waiting for... something, Basch finally gave up. His back was aching from lying on the floor for so long, and the carpet was beginning to chafe his skin.

Books. Hours of discussing books, nothing more, nothing less. Basch paced back and forth, trying to think of what this all meant. Maybe it was nothing, he was just over thinking things, he tended to do that a lot. Yes, he was just over thinking it, that's all! There's was nothing romantic between the boy and his beloved, he had nothing to worry about! But... why did she hold his hands?

It didn't matter. Whatever their relationship was, it was a threat.

_Maybe when Lili leaves my room, I'll tap this boy a message. Tell him what she really is. Then he won't want to see her... _No. Too risky. He couldn't do that, no matter how dangerous this boy is to the relationship he and Lili shared. Then what is he to do?

Curiosity and jealousy enveloped him once again, and Basch returned to the floor, decrypting the messages between the two. After a short while, it seemed as if the boy was finally going to sleep.

"S-W-E-E-T-D-R-E-A-M-S" the boy tapped,

Basch didn't have time to react as the door opened and Lili accidentally kicked him in the nose as she exited his room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking down at the man lying on the ground in front of her.

"I... uh... nothing! Just...checking to make sure everything is okay!" Basch sputtered as he scrambled to his feet, rubbing his nose where he had been hit. Sneakily, he slipped the code sheet into his pocket before she could notice.

"...Ok..." Lili said, stepping around Basch and walking towards the living room,"You can have your room back now"

"Wait, Lili!" he called, running after her."I-Im sorry for how disobedient I've been over the past few days" Basch said, looking his beloved straight in the eyes,"I promise tomorrow I'll go out, and I'll get you food".

"Really?" Lili asked with a raised eyebrow.

* * *

Gym class was always one of Peter's least favorite classes. He was small, not very athletic, and the teacher could be really malicious to students he thought were slacking, including Peter. He stood in a straight, single file line with his classmates, waiting for the gym teacher, Mr Adnan, to arrive. No one dared to move, speak, or even breath. Even Erland, who was infamous for his defiance towards teachers, stood as still as a statue. Peter's legs were beginning to hurt, Mr Adnan was running late today, but he didn't risk squirming or bending to rub his sore ankles. Any minute now, Mr Adnan could come in and catch him out of line, and would surely punish him.

After five more minutes of waiting, Mr Adnan finally arrived. He started the class by walking parallel to the line of students, inspecting each to make sure they were in perfect order. He was an older Turkish man, with a thick accent and the appearance of a drill sergeant.

Once he inspected every student, Mr Adnan stood in front of the line and said,"Physical training today, running, push ups, and sit ups. Go"

A collective groan from the class. The gym teacher raised his hand and said,"I don't want to hear any complaints. If all of you preform acceptably we can play soccer next class. Now, get into your groups and begin".

Groups. Peter had to be sorted into the worst one. Somehow he managed to be put in the same group as Erland, Cosmo, Berkant, and Hubert. It didn't really seem to be possible to him that fate decided for all of his bullies to be placed in his gym group. Fortunately, the four would usually leave Peter alone in gym, out of fear of being caught by Mr Adnan. Still, if he left for just a moment, Peter's torment would begin.

Their first station was running. Peter was fairly good at running, a lot of practice from running away from Erland. So, as their group ran their laps, Peter managed to stay ahead of the rest of them, if only by a meter or two.

Peter was glad once it was over. He bent over, putting his hands on his knees and wheezing for air. Erland ran up from behind him,"accidentally" kicking him in the back of the leg and quietly laughing,"Don't loose a lung yet Piggy, class has only just started".

Next was sit ups. Not too bad, Peter got a decent number in before giving up, not nearly as numerous or as quickly as his fellow classmates but acceptable for him.

Finally, push ups. The hardest and most humiliating station for Peter, at least before today. Usually he could get one or two shaky push ups in before collapsing in exhaustion. But today will be different. Lili told him to fight back. Well, before he fought back he'd have to get stronger. Today he would not only beat his past score, but Erland's as well. He was determined to. For Lili.

He got into position, straightening his back and pointing his toes, then pushed up. Shaky Weak. Pathetic. He let himself fall to the floor then pushed up again. It was usually at this point that he gave up, still he felt like giving up, but he knew he couldn't. Once again, he dropped. _Again! _Peter pushed up, this time stronger, tenser, quicker. He already beat his record, now he just had to beat Erland's. What was it, 30? _Just twenty seven more._

Dropped. _Again! _Pushed up. Dropped. _Again! _Pushed up. Peter got into the cycle, repeating it over and over in his mind to keep out the thought of giving up. 14... 15... 16... His arms ached, and his teeth grinding. He thought he saw someone approach from the corner of his vision, but he couldn't tell who.

He was almost there. 24... 25... 26... He was shaking, his push ups slowing, and gasps for air seeping through gritted teeth. So close, 27... His strength was beginning to give way, 28... just one more, 29... 30.

Peter collapsed, his face smushed against the wooden floor and his burning arms at his side.

"Very impressive Peter!" a voice called from above Pete,"You have surpassed your groups highest score"

Peter turned on his side, and looked up at Mr Adnan, standing over him. A smile grew from ear to ear over Peter's face. He had done it. He reached his goal, he beat Erland. _I can do anything now. _He couldn't wait to tell Lili.

* * *

Class ended. Hordes of students rushed for the locker rooms to get changed and leave. Peter was not among them. Instead, he stayed behind and helped clean up the gym, intending to talk to Mr Adnan once everyone else left.

Soon, students began flooding out of the locker rooms, and Peter decided to finally get changed. When he reached the changing area, everyone else had gone. He slipped on his clothes, then walked to the gym teacher's office, down the hall from the locker room. Mr Adnan was leaning back in a swivel chair, reading a winter sports magazine. Peter tapped lightly on the glass of the door. The Turkish man looked up and waved for him to come in. Peter walked into the room and sat down in front of his teacher's desk.

"What is it, Peter?" he asked boredly, flipping a page in the magazine, not even bothering to look up at the boy.

"Um... I was wondering" Peter said, fidgeting in his set,"About the after school weight lifting program, can people still sign up?"

Mr Adnan put down his magazine and said,"No need for signing up, just show up at seven. Are you thinking of coming?".

Peter nodded, and the gym teacher continued,"Good. Work hard an you'll be strong". He raised the magazine once more and bid Peter farewell as the boy left.

Basch's hand relentlessly scrubbed the new plastic jug he had bought just earlier today. It had to be perfect, everything had to be perfect tonight. Tonight, he would make up for his past incompetence, for his disobedience, for his ignorance. Tonight he would obtain the freshest, warmest, cleanest blood he could possibly find, and give it to his beloved, and all his past mistakes would be forgiven. Yes, that's what would happen, nothing could possibly go wrong, he would make sure of that. So, for nearly ten minutes he cleaned the jug, making sure any flaw or imperfection was dealt with.

As he finished cleaning it and set it out to dry, moving on to his other tools, the thud of light footsteps came from behind him. When he first began his career, these footsteps had been inaudible, always surprising him, scaring him. But, as his time with Lili continued, his ears became more acute to the quiet sounds his beloved made. He didn't bother to turn around, he knew she was there, simply he smiled at her presence.

"You're still going out tonight?" the wispy voice rang.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Basch asked, running his sharp knife through a soapy washcloth, cleaning any stains or imperfections. It had to be perfect.

"They have your picture in the paper now, you know?" she asked,"A police sketch. What if someone recognizes you?"

Basch's smile faded. Perfection was only obtainable by gods; no matter how hard he worked, how hard he tried, there was always a chance something could go wrong. He had to be prepared for that.

"I have taken that into account" he said. He turned his head slightly, looking to the small kitchen table behind him. On it sat a glass jar, filled with a clear liquid. If anything were to go wrong, he couldn't let the police trace him back to Eli. They couldn't trace him, if no one could recognize him. If something were to go wrong, he'd only have to untwist the lid and...

"You wouldn't" Lili protested.

"I will do what I must, for you" Basch said, running the now clean knife through a dry towel,"Do you not understand how important you are to me? What I would sacrifice for you?"

No response. It didn't matter, he would never need to use the jar. Nothing bad would happen tonight, nothing!

"And Lili, could you do one thing for me?" Basch asked, slipping the knife and jug into his work briefcase. He stiffened, placing the last item, the glass jar, into the case."Could you not see that boy tonight? Please?"

Silence. Not acceptable, he needed a response. Basch turned, leaning against the table and staring his beloved straight in the eyes.

She looked down, as if preparing to say something, but her eyes soon returned to his, and a hand raised, caressing his cheek.

Ecstasy washed over Basch at his beloved's touch, a rare feeling he barely knew. His eyes closed and his head bowed, as her fingers lighting ran across his tired old cheek.

A moment later, the sensation was gone, and when Basch opened his eyes, his beloved was gone along with it. He sighed, his briefcase already in hand. Time to get to work.

Gilbert's finger idly circled around the brim of an untouched glass of whiskey. He was unable to drink it, alcohol had tasted bitter ever since the previous nights discovery. His stomach grumbled; he didn't remember the last time he ate. Francis and Elizabeth had ordered earlier, Gilbert abstained.

Elizabeth looked concerned at her starving boyfriend. He hadn't been himself since Antonio disappeared, and now his storm cloud was growing over the whole group. She had ordered a small plate of pasta, but wasn't feeling particularly hungry. She pushed it in front of him, and said,"Here, eat, you won't feel better until you do".

Gilbert eyed the food, then groaned,"I won't feel better even if I eat it".

Elizabeth sighed."Gilbert, we don't even know if Heracles is telling the truth. For all we know, he could ave been drunk and..."

"So what? Maybe he was drunk, but I wasn't, I know what I saw. That was blood I saw in the snow last night, _Antonio's blood. Heracles_ saw something, whether or not it was what he said it was, or whether what he says he saw really happened doesn't matter. Its nearly been a week. Toni's dead." Gilbert said in a low voice.

Elizabeth and Francis sat silently."What do you suggest we do?" Francis asked.

"Well I don't know about you two, but I'm going to find the son of a bitch who did this and kill them" Gilbert swore violently, finally taking a drink from the whiskey.

"Vigilantism isn't the answer, we should tell the police" Elizabeth said.

"Will you be the one to betray your friend? Heracles said he didn't want to go to the police, begged us not to force him to. Will you turn him in? Because I for sure as hell wont" Gil finished the glass.

Elizabeth ran her hand through her hair."We can't kill a little girl".

"It wasn't a little girl, a little girl couldn't kill someone like Antonio. I agree with you, Heracles was drunk, he didn't see a little girl kill Toni, but he saw something do it. And whomever or whatever it was, were going to kill it. For Toni" he raised his glass in a toast.

Francis and Elizabeth looked at each other, then too raised their glasses."For Toni"

* * *

6 o' clock, their hour. Peter sat on his bed, facing the wall he and Lili shared. In one hand he held the slip of paper with Morse code written on it, with his other hand he tapped a message through the wall.

"G-O-I-N-G-O-U-T"

A few moments wait, then;

"C-O-M-I-N-G"

Peter raced to his door, hat and gear already on, then slipped out into the hallway to wait for Lili. Seconds later, she came out and greet Peter with a,"Hi".

"Hi" Peter smiled in reply. She looked... different. He had noticed that her appearance seemed to change every day, never looking the same, getting worse. Earlier in the school year, an old Jewish woman came to Peter's class to give a presentation on the holocaust. Today, Lili looked similar to the people the woman had shown pictures of.

She seemed frail, thinner, her eyes and cheeks sunken and hallow. Her eyes seemed old and tired, and thick streaks of white dashed her hair once more. The only explanation Peter could come up with was that she was sick, but she seemed perfectly fine a few days ago.

"Are you alright, Lili? You look kind of ill" Peter said,"We don't have to go out tonight if you don't feel up to it"

Lili shook her head."No, I'm fine, just a little hungry. I'll look better tomorrow"

"Ok..." Peter said. He didn't understand how feeling hungry can make you look so out of shape. Maybe she hadn't eaten in a while."Hey... you know tonight is the one week anniversary of us knowing each other?" Peter asked.

"Yes" Lili smiled. Even her smile looked weak.

"You know... its also Valentines Day" Peter added. She didn't seem to notice, maybe she didn't know what Valentines Day was. It wasn't a very common holiday in Switzerland, so it was understandable for her not to know what it was."We should go somewhere tonight", he suggested,"Go somewhere besides the park"

"...like where?" Lili asked hesitantly.

"I dunno, there's a corner store about a block away, we can hang out there for a little, I'll buy some candy and we can share it" Peter said. He wanted her to feel better, to look healthier. If her father, or whoever that man who lived with her was, wouldn't buy her food, then he would.

By now they had walked outside into the cold, dark night. Lili looked at her bare feet in the snow, thinking. "Okay" she said,"Last one there is a rotten egg".

An image flickered into Peter's mind. _Black and white kids_. The kind you'd see in old movies before color.

Lili took off, and Peter followed, trying to keep up. For someone who looked so sickly, she sure did run fast. She reminded Peter of a deer, taking long leaps in between steps, leaps that seemed impossible. In only three strides, she was already twenty feet ahead of him. Peter did his best to try to keep up, which wasn't very successful, distracted by his earlier thought. _Black and white kids? _ What did it mean?

Then it came to Peter, _last one there is a rotten egg. _He had never heard a real person say that, only children in those old movies. Strange, Lili was pretty strange.

Before Peter had even crossed the park, Lili was already at the corner store, waiting for him. As Peter reached her, he tried his best not to pant or look exhausted.

"I win" she peeped with a smile. There wasn't a single bead of sweat on her face, no signs of tiredness at all. If Peter hadn't seen her run for three blocks straight, he would have thought she drove here.

"How... did you... do that?" Peter huffed.

"I just ran. You know, one foot in front of the other?" she joked.

"Do you run a lot?" Peter asked, regaining his wind.

"Not really"

Lili really was strange. Walking around in the snow barefoot, talking like a kid from a black and white movie, and now running like a track star without practicing?

The two walked together into the store and began perusing the isles.

"You can have anything you want, I'll pay for it" Peter said. He brought twenty francs with him, the money he earned delivering last weeks papers, and hoped it would be enough. The continued walking from isle to isle. Occasionally Peter would stop and ask Lili if she wanted something. Each time she would say no, and they would move on. They reached the final isle and Lili still hadn't picked anything.

"There has to be something you want" Peter said,"Really, I want to get you something. You're starving"

"I don't want anything" Lili replied as politely as possible, avoiding looking at Peter

Peter sighed."Alright". He walked to the register, buying himself a little bag of gummies for himself. He looked back at Lili one last time, hoping shed changed her mind, but to no avail. As the two left, Peter snuck a peek at her. She didn't look healthy at all. Her eyes looked so old and tired in her sunken eye sockets, her skin pale and thin. Who knows when she had last ate, she looked half dead. He wanted to help somehow.

Before they stepped into the frigid windy street, Peter offered the bag to Lili. She shook her head.

"No thank you"

"Why not, you look hungry"

"I can't eat candy"

"Really? Why not"

"I just can't"

Peter frowned. _I just can't_. That's a phrase he'd heard a lot from Lili. She never really explained the strange things about her outside of saying _I can't _or _I just can_. He was hoping to buy her everything she wanted tonight to get her to like him. Then when that didn't happen, he want to offer her all of his candy, to make her feel better, but not that didn't happen either. Glumly, Peter popped a candy into his mouth and began walking home with Lili.

As they neared their adjacent apartment buildings, Lili sighed and said,"I guess... I can try one"

Peter beamed and passed her the bag. He really hoped she would like it, so he could give her the bag then go buy her more and make her look less sickly.

She delicately placed her hand in the bag and pulled out a tiny piece of candy. With a shaky hand she slowly raised it to her lips and ate it. As soon as her mouth closed, her hand clamped over her mouth and she ran away, pushing Peter in the process. Peter followed her to see if she was ok, finding her in a dark alleyway, doubled over and heaving. He was horrified as he stood over her, unsure of what to do

Once she noticed Peter's presence, she slowly turned to him, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"Sorry" she whimpered weakly, struggling to stay standing. She looked so small, so helpless...

Peter didn't know what he was doing. For a moment, his mind left him, and some mysterious force pushed him forward, and he did it. A spout of courage sprung up from somewhere inside him, and he wrapped his arms around Lili in a tight embrace. For a brief second, he was terrified. For that second, Lili was stiff, locked, and Peter was afraid he may have done something bad. He was about to let go, to frantically apologize for being so brash, when she wrapped her arms around his back and relaxed into his arms.

Peter felt lighter than air and warmer than a fire, he didn't know what caused him to hug Lili but he was sure glad he did it. He didn't want to move, he wanted to stay there forever with Lili in his arms. If he had died right there and now, he would be happy.

"Peter" Lili muttered,"Do you like me?"

Peter's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. He was trying his hardest not to tremble as he whispered,"Yes"

"Would you like me..." she hesitated to finish her sentence,"Even if I wasn't a girl?"

Peter was confused. _What could she mean by that? _She was obviously a girl, she looked and sounded like a girl. _Its probably some sort of hypothetical questions _Peter thought to himself. Even if it wasn't hypothetical, he knew the answer...

"Yeah, I guess I so"

He felt Lili's head turn, nudging into his soft neck. He could feel the heat from her breath, slow and calm at first, then suddenly fast and intense. A shiver ran through his body as her lips touched his throat. A kiss? She shuddered and broke away from Peter, clenching her eyes closed tightly and trembling as if trying to forget some terrible nightmare.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked, stepping towards her,"I didn't scare you, did I? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hugged you"

Lili took another step away from him, walking back into the snowy street."No, its not that, its just..." she said,"I have to go". She quickly began retreating back to the nearby door of her apartment building as Peter trailed behind her.

"Wait!" he called, trying to catch up with her. She reached her door and turned back to him.

"I was just wondering.." he stuttered,"...i-if I'll get to see you again tomorrow"

Before he could get a response, she was gone."A-Alright! Goodnight!" he exclaimed.

* * *

_Half Past Seven_. He had to be quick about this, they gym would be closing soon. It was risky, very risky, if he had any sense in him he wouldn't have picked such a public area to conduct business. But Basch didn't have any sense in him, only excitement. It was risky, yes, but it was the only way to guarantee the freshest blood for his beloved.

The automatic doors of the local gymnasium slid open, letting in a cool gust of snowy air as well as a mysterious figure clad in a ski mask and trench coat. Ski masks weren't particularly uncommon in this type of weather, but his shrouded appearance still gave an ominous impression. He approached the front desk, where a woman sat flipping through a fashion magazine. He placed a wad of Francs onto the counter and uttered,"I would like to rent a private changing room".

The woman looked up from her magazine, and cautiously handed the man a key.

"A little late for a swim, isn't it?" she asked.

"I won't be long" he replied, turning and heading towards the changing rooms. As he was turning a corner out of sight, he pulled off the mask, freeing a head of shoulder length blonde hair.

Basch scanned the pool as he passed by it. There weren't many people left, it was rather late as the woman at the desk had stated. As he discretely counted the number of people still in the pool area, twelve, a new fear washed over him. Not of things going bad or of him having to use the jar of liquid, but of coming home without the vital liquid his beloved needs. He played out this scenario over a hundred times in his head, and not a single time did he consider a lack of possible victims. What would Lili do? He knew she wouldn't die, she was much stronger than she looked. She could kill him, take his blood as payment, and Basch honestly wouldn't mind. If it meant keeping his beloved alive, it was worth it. But that not what she would do. No, she would abandon him. Cut her loses, move on, forget about the man who gave so much for her...

Basch shook these fears off. No, that's not what would happen, he wouldn't let it. He will capture someone, do what has to be done, then take the victims blood back to Lili, and she would finally love him back. Yes, that's what would happen, he ha it perfectly planned out. Turning from the pool deck, he walked into the locker rooms. His personal room was attached to the locker room, giving a perfect vantage point for an ambush. He unlocked the door and walked into the room. It was small, but he didn't need much space anyways. He started laying out his tools on an open bench; the knife, the jug and funnel, the gas can and a bundle of rope. Then, he turned the light off and partly closed the door, leaving a tiny crack for vision, then crouched behind the door with his canister at the ready.

The minutes passed like hours, Basch had completely lost track of time. He didn't bother checking his watch, it wouldn't only cause him to panic more, if that was possible. Groups of people passed by on occasion, but Basch knew he couldn't take them all. Just as despair began to set in, as he closed the small crack and turned to start packing up his tools, hope came in the voices of three teenage boys.

There was a crack, then one of the boys yelled,"Dammit Mathias, stop that!". Obviously the boy yelling had been towel whipped.

"Oh stop whining Lukas, it doesn't hurt that much" another boy said, likely the whipper.

A grin grew across Basch's face as he readied the gas can. He didn't know how he would do it, but tonight one of those boys wouldn't be leaving.

"So Berwald, I heard you got a new Atari" the boy who had been whipped, Lukas, said

"Yeah, want to come over and play it"a slow, monotone voice from the third boy, Berwald, said.

"Sure. How about you Mathias?"

"Sorry, can't. My mom wants me home earlier because of the murderer". Mathias said 'murderer' in a spooky mocking tone, which cause the other two to laugh."Murderer, what a joke. That kid who got killed was probably an idiot. If I met the murderer, I would knock his teeth out and claim the reward for him from the police. But hes probably not even in the city anymore. If I were him, I would've skipped town by now; hell I'd be laughing from Spain about about how big of a fuss everyone was making over me"

The two boys laughed even harder, and Basch had to hold back a giggle. _If only he knew that the murderer was close enough to kill him_, he thought, trying not to laugh.

"I'm sure you could take the murderer on you own, tough guy" the monotone Berwald chuckled,"See you tomorrow, Mathias".

The two other boys exited the locker room, leaving Basch alone with the 'tough guy', Mathias. As the boy bent over to tie his shoes, Basch took his opportunity to strike. He burst out of the private changing room, pouncing on Mathias and tackling him to the ground. He wrestled the gas mask over the boys mouth, muffling his screams and curses, and released the halothane. The boy punched Basch in the cheek, which slightly disorientated him but was not strong enough to knock him off.

"Better try harder than that..." Basch huffed,"...if you're going to knock my teeth out".

He drank in the look of pure terror in the boys eyes as it slowly faded into unconsciousness, then stood up as Mathias went limp. He wiped his brow of sweat then dragged the boy into his changing room, locking it behind him. He usually left the gas mask on longer, but he had to hurry, he didn't need the boy to be unconscious for much longer anyways. He tied Mathias up by the ankles to a coat wrack on the wall, his head just high enough off the ground, then set up the jug underneath him. Just as he was walking over to grab his last tool, his knife, he heard something coming from the locker room.

"Mathias! Berwald lost his wallet, did you see it? Mathias!? This better not be a prank Mathias, we know your in here!" Lukas yelled.

Basch didn't move, didn't breathe, did everything in his power to stay silent. His greatest nightmare, everything he had feared for, everything he convinced himself wouldn't happen came to life as he turned to look at the boy hanging upside down. His eyes fluttered open, confused and dazed at first, then horrified. As he realized where he was, he let out a single, blood curtailing scream,"HELP!" before Basch could run over to him and cover his mouth with his hand, begging him to shut up. But it was too late. The two boys were banging on the door,"Mathias!? Are you ok!? Mathias!?"

Mathias bit Basch's hand, breaking the skin and releasing the precious fluid he had came her for. Basch stumbled backwards into a locked, grasping his bloodied hand and hissing in pain as Mathias began screaming.

"Berwald, go get help! Mathias, were coming!" Lukas yelled as he began to slam his body weight into the door to knock it off its hinges.

It was all over. All the plans he had made, all the hopes he had dreamed, crushed by the screams of some stupid kid. He had planned for this, of course.

Basch inched over to the bench where his tools had lain. The only two left were a knife, and a glass jar of clear liquid. His hand brushed along the wooden bench, knocking the knife to the ground with a metallic clang that was inaudible from the creams of the boys. He grabbed the jar and pushed himself into a corner. It would seem that Berwald had made it back, accompanied by two older men who joined the boys in their shouting. They pounded on the door, much stronger than the two boys could ever have. Basch could see the hinges beginning to break on the door; he didn't have long. He closed his eyes and remembered the time he and Lili shared. He untwisted the lid from the jar, and raised it above his head. As he looked up at the jar, he imagined a little boy, a little angel, his beloved, floating down from heaven to take away all the pain he had ever faced.

As Mathias continued to wail and the door finally burst open, Basch screamed,"Lili!" and poured the jar of hydrochloric acid onto his face.

* * *

**Sorry for the two month hiatus everyone! With school work and family issues getting in the way, I didn't have much time to write, so instead of getting this chapter out on its intended date of Valentines Day, I pushed it off for months (similar to Seashells and Lilies which I will be updating next) expect more content from me in the future, and again, Im very sorry for taking so long to update. Remember to leave a review telling him how you like this chapter, a review is what inspired me to finish and post this chapter! Thanks for reading!**


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